Friend or Foe
by erintheartchick
Summary: Knuckles is reunited with an old friend, but not for long. The mysterious animal doesn't have time to chat because he is the victim of a terrible accident, which Knuckles blames himself for. Unknown to Knuckles though, his old
1. Parts 1 and 2

Friend or Foe   
Parts 1 and 2 out of 5  
  
Erin's First Sonic Fan-fiction Mini-Series  
  
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Friend Or Foe? (Part 1)  
A Sonic the Hedgehog Fanfiction story  
BY: Erin Lindsey  
  
For all legal information and other stuff like that, see bottom of this page!  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
Introduction:  
  
Rain pelted the ground of the tropical Floating Isalnd. The blades of   
green grass trembled in the moonlight as the thunder rolled across the   
endless dark nothingness of the sky. The guardian of this beautiful and   
mysterious island and the keeper of the green Chaos Emerald is Knuckles the   
echidna. Descendant of many before him he was destined to have this   
responsibility. Having a complex past and an even more perplexing future he   
should be glad to rest from his duty. He sat restlessly underneath a huge   
crimson mushroom. He tried to relax and sleep but it worried him when it was   
so quiet on the island. The evil dictator of Mobius, Dr. Ivo Robotnik had   
been staying amazingly quiet for the last couple of weeks. What was he   
brewing in that fat pointy head of his? Knuckles thought. He sighed deeply.  
He would try and leave the freedom fighting to Sonic the Hedgehog and   
Princess Sally from now on. Of course he had other foes to worry about also...   
He tried to clear his head of his enemies. After his encounter with the Dark   
Legion and all, he suffered with quite a large dose of mental fatigue. He   
turned his mind to other matters.   
  
The Chaotix team were all asleep in or under a great willow tree   
trying to stay dry from the on going storm. Knuckles smiled to himself.   
They all had greatly different personalities, and yet could still work   
together as a team successfully. Espio the chameleon was probably the most   
serious one of them all. He was smart and quick. He was a great secret   
weapon with his ability to camouflage into his surroundings. This didn't   
show as he slept upside down on the underside of a huge limb extending from   
the willow with his purple tail curled tightly around it. Knuckles wondered   
how he slept that way without all the blood rushing to his head. Vector the   
crocodile, on the other hand was a bit of a goof off. He was always listening   
to his headphones. In fact, he almost never took them off. He had a certain   
loyalty to his friends though. Vector slumbered with his back against the   
gigantic tree trunk. Knuckles could hear music softly pouring from the   
headset he wore on whatever was a crocodile's ears. It was a wonder Vector   
wasn't deaf he played those things so loud as to still be able to hear it's   
music while a thunder storm was going on. He had his long green legs propped   
up on a large red rock. Knuckles examined the rock more closely. He hadn't   
remembered there being a rock there before. The rock had two small yellow   
ears and was slowly heaving up and down under the soles of Vector's sneakers.   
It wasn't a rock, Knuckles realized. It was Mighty the armadillo. He was   
snoring obnoxiously. Mighty reminded Knuckles mostly of Sonic the Hedgehog.   
He was egotistical and was always looking for a fight. Yet, he was heroic and   
incredibly strong, probably the next in line as leader of the Chaotix, if   
Knuckles wasn't there. Charmy Bee was another story. He was tranquil and   
practical. He would rather reason with an enemy than fight. But, if a fight   
was necessary he could pack an incredible punch for his limited size. Charmy   
was peacefully buzzing inside a giant white flower blossom that was growing   
on a vine that twisted around the thick base of the willow and up into it's   
higher extensions.   
  
Knuckles yawned. It wasn't because he was sleepy, but because he was   
extremely bored. He looked up at the dark, black clouds above the Floating   
Island. They were churning violently in the torrent of wind. There was a   
low rumble of thunder and it starting pouring as hard as ever now. Suddenly   
Knuckles jumped as a bolt of lightning hit the horizon accompanied by a loud   
cannonade of thunder. Espio awoke startled by the clash. He let go of the   
branch he was holding onto and swung back and forth from his tail. He   
rocked himself back to sleep instantly. Mighty rolled over and out from under   
Vector's feet. Vector didn't wake up, but mumbled something in his sleep.   
  
"Hmmm? Wha?... No Mah... five more minutes... hmmmg."   
  
Knuckles stood up. It was his duty to insure the safety of all the   
Mobians that dwelt on the Floating Island. He decided to check out where the   
lightning hit. Besides, it's not like he had anything else to do on this   
sleepless night. He began running in the direction of the smoke that had   
begun to billow from the horizon. He was just about to leap into the air and   
take off when blast of thunder reminded him of the turbulent skies. He   
thought it better to walk there instead.  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: A Wildcat's Words  
  
Meanwhile elsewhere on the Floating Island...  
  
A dark figure appeared out of the jungle and strode up to the   
smoking tree.   
  
"Dammit. The storm turned my tree to toast!" The wildcat whined as he   
approached the burnt and fallen tree.  
  
The cat was mostly dark brown color, except for his chest and stomach,  
hands, whiskers, and tip of his long thin tail, which were cream white. He   
had large ears and bright green eyes that flashed in the darkness. On the   
tip of his wolf-like nose was a pair of black sunglasses. These, a purple   
belt around his waist, and orange and red tennis shoes were the only clothes   
he wore. The cat was younger than he looked. He was only a teenager, but   
was large for his age. His two front canine teeth stuck out of his mouth,   
giving him a menacing look.   
  
The rain had already put out the flames that had engulfed the tree   
earlier. The cat had just returned from a midnight fishing trip. He was   
unsuccessful. How the heck was he supposed to remember no fish lived on   
the Floating Island? He hadn't been there for ten years. It had took most of   
his strength to hijack a hover craft from the western nomads of Mobius, and   
he had been counting on a solid food supply when he arrived on the island. He   
couldn't get off the small continent because he had foolishly hurled the   
craft over the edge so no one would know he had came. He was wet, hungry,   
and very tired. Tonight had been a long night. Besides, this place brought   
back a lot of memories. Mostly bad ones. The only reason he had came here in   
the first place was to hide. All he wanted was sleep. He surveyed his crispy   
x-tree as the last fumes disappeared in the night sky. He extended a paw   
and gently touched it.   
  
"OW!" He yelped jerking his hand away.   
It was still hot. He stuck his burnt finger in his mouth.   
He mumbled some obscene words at the tree.  
  
"Guess I'll have'ta sleep somewhere else." He muttered.  
  
He trotted over to a slightly smaller tree. It had no low branches to climb   
on. All the thick sturdy limbs were high at the top. This didn't bother him.   
The feline crouched down for a couple of seconds, aiming. Then, with a burst   
of sudden energy, he leapt high into the air. His claws spread out from his   
finger tips and dug into the thick bark of the tree. He climbed slowly up   
the mid-section of the sapling examining the branches on both sides of him.   
  
"Aha! Here we go...."   
  
He saw a large branch extending from the tree. He grabbed onto it tightly   
with his paw and swung himself on top of the limb.   
  
"Ahh." The feline sighed.  
  
He settled himself on the branch, put his glasses in a small case on the   
side of his belt, then put his arms behind his head and slowly closed his   
large green eyes. Suddenly he heard a twig snap. Someone was walking   
around beneath the canopy. He twisted his ears backwards and let out a low,   
quiet snarl. The tip of his tail twitched uncontrollably. It was probably   
just some lost, and helpless creature fooling around he realized. He   
relaxed and tried to ignore it.  
  
Beneath the tree-tops Knuckles patrolled the ground. He was not lost   
and was defintely not helpless. He inspected the fallen tree.   
  
"Hmmm...I hope no one was hurt...." He mumbled to himself.  
  
The echidna sighed. This wasn't very exciting. He craved action. Knuckles   
kicked a small rock. It bounced a couple of feet and then stopped. He walked   
up to it and kicked it again, harder this time, up into the air. While the   
rock was in the air he turned and kicked it with his other leg, sending it   
ricocheting off the trees. Then he held out his hand and caught the pebble in   
mid-air.   
  
"Hmmph. Pretty good." He complimented himself. He dropped it and   
started punching out in the air. "Hi-ya!" He yelled loudly.  
  
The wildcat opened his eyes and peered down at the noisy red animal below. He   
growled. Knuckles didn't seem to notice and continued fighting his shadow. He   
wound up his fist then POW! He punched a tree as hard as he could.   
Unfortunately, this just happened to be the same tree that the angry feline   
was trying to sleep in.  
  
"Ahhhhgh!!!" The cat screamed as the tree shook from the force of   
Knuckles' blow.   
  
Knuckles looked up in surprise, "What the?...."  
  
The wildcat lost his footing and tumbled out of the tree,"Whoa!"   
  
Knuckles quickly pulled his fist out of the tree and darted out of the way   
and into a rose bush. The cat nimbly twisted his body in the air and landed   
on all fours. The wildcat was mad. Really mad. He had not had a good day and   
tonight was not the time to mess with him.   
  
"Whats up wit' 'dat punk?!" He said angrily approaching the shrubbery   
Knuckles was struggling to get out of. Knuckles freed himself and crawled out of the briars.   
  
"Don't cha Know that people are tryin' to sleep here?!"   
  
Knuckles squinted to see the mad tree-dweller in the darkness. He had never   
seen this animal before. Atleast thats what he thought. He was a brownish   
color and had glowing green eyes. He also noticed the cat was pretty big.   
Bigger than he was.  
  
"Sorry, uh who...?" He said calmly.  
  
"Sorry?!" The cat spat enraged, "Is that all you can say punk!?"   
  
Knuckles tried to explain but the he ignored the echidna and swatted him   
across the side of the face.  
  
"Arrgh!" Knuckles winced. He ran his hand over his cheek then looked   
at his palm. Blood. The crazy cat had scratched him! This guy had some   
attitude. He didn't know who he was toying with.   
  
"Allright! That's it!" Knuckles yelled and lunged at the wildcat.  
The cat was surprised at the echidna's strength and fell to the ground.  
  
"Oof!" He grunted as the wind got knocked out of him.  
He stumbled back to him feet, but Knuckles was ready, and punched him in the   
face. The cat backed away holding his hand to his head. His nose was bleeding,   
and it wasn't from the altitude. He attacked and threw Knuckles to the floor   
with one swift movement of his arm.   
  
"Owwwww." Knuckles groaned feeling pain surge though his   
back.Before Knuckles could recover, the cat caught him by the   
throat and pinned him to the ground.  
  
"Not so tough are 'ya now, eh punk?" The cat mocked   
smiling evilly.He tighten his grip around the echidna's neck.   
Knuckles gulped for air, and decided he had better do something quick before   
this lunatic choked him to death. He flipped the cat and himself over. They   
rolled backward though some plants, then the ground dissapeared beneath them,  
and went into a free fall.  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
Chapter 2: It's Raining Cats and Echidnas  
  
  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The feline and echidna screamed as they continued to  
fall off the Floating Island.  
  
Knuckles had not noticed how close to the perimeter they had been. Now it was   
too late. Fortunately the side of the island was rocky. Knuckles struggled to   
grab hold of one of the rocks jutting out. He gripped it and grabbed the   
cat's hand as he sailed past.   
  
"Y-you saved me?" The cat stuttered, surprised at his combatant.  
  
"I'm not going to have someone on 'my island' perish because of me!"   
Knuckles answered trying to pull himself up to the edge.  
  
"Your island?" The cat asked, "That means your the guardian! Y-your   
n-n-Knuckles the echidna, ain't you?!"   
  
"How do you know my name?" Knuckles asked shocked.  
The wildcat just stared back up at him with frightened eyes. Knuckles studied   
the cat's face. Knuckles realized why.  
  
"C-clawz?! What the hell are you doing here!!" He yelled.  
  
"I'll explain later!! Get me outta here!!!" He yelled back, looking   
over his shoulder at the forest far below. Knuckles pulled himself back onto   
the surface of the island. Suddenly their hands slipped a bit.  
  
"KNUCKLES!!!" Clawz screamed.  
  
"Hold on! I think I can pull you up!" Knuckes grunted as he tried to heave   
his old friend over to the edge. The feline's hand slipped farther from his   
grip.  
  
"Ahhhhhh! Ahh! Ahhhh! I can't hold on!" He screamed.  
  
"Clawz! Don't let go!" Knuckles said starting to panic.   
  
But,the wildcat was too heavy for him. Suddenly the two hands parted. Clawz   
shrieked as he started plummeting down to his doom.  
  
"NO! CLAWZ! Clawz! clawz...." Knuckles moaned.  
  
His voice seemed to trail of in the rolling thunder and falling rain. Out of   
the thousands of raindrops that fell toward the ground, one was a single tear.   
  
  
  
  
In the forest below...  
  
  
The young fox Miles Prower, otherwise known as Tails, trembled   
beneath his covers. His hut was one of many that filled the tiny hidden   
village of Knothole. Knothole was actually a secret base, were the rebels   
known as the Freedom Fighters controlled their attacks on the evil ruler, Dr.   
Robotnik's capital, Robotropolis. But Tails was not trembling in fear of the   
self-appointed dictator, he was more afraid of the on-going thunder-storm at   
this moment. He hated storms. He thought of going and sleeping with his   
friend, and idol, Sonic the hedgehog like he did when he was younger.   
No, that would just prove he was still a little kid, he thought.   
Tails didn't want that. He wanted to be treated like an adult. Still, he was   
afraid. Thunder clashed above.   
  
"Eepp!" Tails whimpered and hid underneath his quilt.  
  
"aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAhhhhhHHHHHHHH!!"  
  
Tails suddenly heard a voice outside. It seemed to be getting louder, as if   
it was falling from the sky.......   
  
"Ack!Omph!aggrgh!"   
  
The voice came from the forest beside Tails' hut now.  
  
"Ohhhhh..." It moaned.  
  
Someone was hurt in the forest, Tails realized sitting up straight in his bed.   
  
"I gotta go get Sonic!" Tails told himself. Tails got out of bed and   
quickly put on his sneakers. He opened his door and raced out into the rain   
toward Sonic the Hedgehog's cabin.  
  
Inside his hut, Sonic was fast asleep. Tails knocked on the door.   
  
"Sonic?" Tails said opening it and coming inside. "Sonic?...Sonnniicc?  
SONIC! WAKE UP!" Tails yelled trying to awaken his compadre.  
  
"Huh? Wha...Tails?...What time is it?" Sonic woke up and looked   
over at a clock on his bedside table. 2:00 A.M. flashed on it's screen.  
  
"Sonic! I heard something in the woods! I think somebody's hurt out there!"  
Tails ignored him and blurted out his story.  
  
Sonic sighed and looked drowsily at his fox friend. "Tails....it was a bad   
dream. Now go back to bed." He mumbled and rolled over so his quill-covered   
back was facing Tails.   
  
"No, Sonic! I wasn't dreaming! C'mon, I'll prove it!" Tails grabbed   
Sonic's wrist and pulled him out of bed.  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
Chapter 3: A Walk in the Woods  
  
  
  
Minutes later...  
  
  
"Okay, little buddy, where did the sound come from?" Sonic said,   
sounding annoyed.  
  
"Right over there!" Tails pointed at the forest behind his hut. "And,   
Sonic, don't call me that." He added and started walking toward the brush.  
  
"Yeah, whatever." Sonic muttered. Sonic followed close behind him.   
All of a sudden Tails stopped dead in his tracks. Sonic bumped into his back.  
  
"Hey, what's up?" He asked him.  
Tails stayed silent but pointed to a tree about a yard in front of them.   
Sonic examined it. He looked up at it's branches.  
  
"Holy CHAOS!" Sonic yipped. "Theres someone up there!!"  
Sonic saw a mangled body among the branches. A drop of blood fell from the   
tree and splashed into a puddle.  
  
Sonic and Tails stood there for a silent for a moment, in total   
horror. Sonic snapped out of it.  
  
"Tails! Quick go get Bunnie, Sally, and 'Twan!" He ordered.  
Tails looked shocked for a second, then turned and flew back to Knothole.   
The kid was right, Sonic thought. Maybe I should treat him more seriously.  
  
"Ohhhhhh..."   
  
Sonic jumped startled. The figure in the tree had tree moaned.  
"He's still alive!" Sonic gasped, "Oh man...."  
Sonic approached the tree and started to climb it.  
  
"Tails! What is this all about?" Piped Princess Sally who was   
pursuing the two-tailed fox. She stopped to take a breath and tighten her   
pink bathrobe.  
  
"Yah, Sugah, what did y'all git us up in tha middle of the night fo'?"   
Bunnie Rabbot, the half roboticizied rabbit asked. She was only half awake,   
and still had rollers up in her long ears.   
  
"I'll explain later, we have to hurry!" Tails led the trio into the   
Great Forest. Bunnie shrugged and turned to Antonie, who was the only one   
fully dressed in uniform. He just shook his head and began following Tails   
again. Bunnie and the Princess trailed behind them.  
  
"Sacre Bleu!" Antonie exclaimed as they came to the clearing.  
  
"Lordy! What in tha who-ha happened?!" Bunnie screamed.  
  
Sonic was now descending the tree with the beaten body in his arms.  
  
"Sonic!" Sally yelled and ran to him.  
  
He was now out of the tree and was laying the body on the forest floor.   
"Help, he's heavy....," Was all that Sonic said.  
  
Antonie stepped up and kneeled down beside Sonic and helped him.   
  
"My, oh my..." Bunnie mumbled.  
  
"He iz bleedings." Antonie said uneasily.  
  
"No, duh Ant'." Sonic grunted as they picked the large cat's body   
back up.  
  
"Easy now... easy..." Sally instructed as they started to slowly walk   
back to the village.  
  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
Friend or Foe? (Part 2)  
By: Erin Lindsey  
  
  
This part of the story is rated PG for only a small bit of violence and confusing   
conversations. For all legal information and other such nonsense like that,   
see the bottom of this story.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 4 : Wake Up Call  
  
  
It was a beautiful spring morning in the Great Forest. The only   
sounds were the rippling of the stream, chriping of the small birds, and   
clicking of the crickets in the early dawn sun. None of the residents of the  
small, secrective village of Knothole had awakened yet. Everyone was still  
asleep in their tiny huts. Well, almost everyone.  
  
Sonic the Hedgehog stood on the steps in front of his hut. Sonic  
looked to his left and then to his right. He realized that none of his  
friends were awake yet. He didn't usually wake up this early either, but  
the incident the night before had left him restless. Sonic thought for a  
second, then re-entered his domocile. After a few short moments, he emerged  
again carrying a large red and white electric guitar. With a evil smirk on   
his face, the hedgehog twisted a small knob on the side of the instrument.   
He turned the knob marked 'VOLUME' to it's full extent. He dramatically drew  
his hand up in the air, and then in a super-sonic motion, he strummed the   
strings as hard as he could.   
  
The loud noise of the guitar echoed throughout the small village,   
almost making the ground tremble with the intensive amount of base.  
  
"WAKE UP!" Sonic screamed, but his voice did barely penetrate the   
echoing of the guitar.  
  
Inside her own hut, Princess Sally Acorn snapped awake. She sat   
straight up in her bed. As soon as the ringing in her ears faded, she threw  
on her blue vest and stormed out the door.   
  
"SONIC!" She screamed.  
  
She searched the village with her eyes, but Sonic had already fled the scene.  
She saw Bunnie and Antonie come out of their huts. Bunnie was yawning loudly,   
and Antonie was still trying to button the last button on the collar of his  
uniform. When they saw Sally they both ran over to her acting pretty upset.  
  
"Look here Sally-girl, why don't y'all tell that there boyfriend of  
yours to keep it down a bit!" Bunnie said to her.  
  
"Boyfriend? Right now that hedgehog doesn't even qualify as a friend!"   
Sally snapped.  
  
"Oui, my princess. I have been just been getting to sleepings when   
zat fuelish 'edge 'og is to be waking me up." Antonie said still stuggling   
with his collar. Bunnie reached over and buttoned it finally with a quick   
snap.  
  
"Merci, Bunnie." He said sheepishly.  
  
"You'r welcome, Sugah."  
  
Sally sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Where did he go any way?" She asked.  
  
"I think he is going that-a-way." Antonie answered and pointed toward   
the Freedom Fighter's mess hall.  
  
"To the kitchen?" Sally asked.  
  
Antonie nodded.  
  
"Makes sense." Bunnie said crossing her arms. They all   
started to trudge in that direction.  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
"Hummm de dum de doo...." Sonic hummed as he made himself breakfast.  
He looked into the oven to see if they were done yet.   
  
"Mmmmm...." He sighed as he took the plate of about a dozen hot dogs   
out and spooned a redish concauction from a pot on the stove onto them.  
  
Just then, Princess Sally, Bunnie, and Antonie plowed through the  
double doors.  
  
"Hi, guys. I was wondering when you were gonna wake up." Sonic said   
casually, and stuffed a chilli dog in his mouth. "Want some breakfast?" He   
mumbled.  
  
"No, we don't want breakfast......gross. Chilli dogs for breakfast?   
Thats disgusting." Sally said eyeing him.  
  
"Is zat ze only thing he is ever eating?" Antonie whispered to Bunnie.  
  
She ignored him.  
"Sugah-hog, why in the who-ha did y'all wake us up for?" Bunnie spat   
at Sonic, "I need mah beauty sleep!"  
  
"Who me?" Sonic asked innocently, "Are you reffering to me Miss   
Rabbot?"  
  
"Either you or butterfly with an electric guitar...." Sally said   
sarcastically. Sonic slid his guitar further under the table with his shoe.   
A young orange fox with two tails walked into the room.  
  
"Hiya, Tails." Sonic said trying to change the subject.  
  
"Hi, Sonic, Aunt Sally, Aunt Bunnie......." Tails answered.  
  
Antonie cleared his throught.   
  
"Oh, Hi Antwan. I didn't notice you were here." Tails apologized.  
  
Antonie rolled his eyes, and Sonic tried to keep from laughing.  
  
"Hey! Chilli dogs! I knew I smelled something cooking." Tails piped   
seeing the plate on the table.  
  
"Thats m'boy." Sonic said and handed him one.  
  
"No way." Sally said pushing the hot dog away from Tails, "You'r   
going to have some oatmeal."  
  
"Awww, Aunt Sally...." Tails whined.  
  
"If you eat chilli dogs for breakfast, you might turn out like Sonic.   
And none of us want that, do we?" She argued and handed the fox a bowl.  
  
"Ha, ha. Verrry funny Princess." Sonic muttered and ate another   
chilli dog.  
  
  
"Guys! You better come quick!" Rotor the walrus shouted to the group  
as he rushed into the kitchen.  
  
"Whats up Rote?" Sonic quizzed him.  
  
"Well it's about our visitor.... he's not doing too well..." Rotor   
said catching his breath.  
  
"Oh no! I totally forgot about him. Did he wake up?" Sally asked,   
concerned.  
  
"Yeah. He's in hysterics!" Rotor answered.  
  
All eyes turned to Sonic and gave him a cold stare.  
  
"Oops..." Sonic mumbled realizing his prank had backfired.  
  
"Hmph!" Sally snorted, "Maybe we can help. C'mon lets go!" Then she   
ran out of the mess hall and toward the imfermary.  
  
"Right behind yah Sally-girl!" Bunnie yelled as she darted after the   
princess.  
  
"Wait for moui!" Antonie followed them.   
  
Sonic looked at the plate of chilli dogs then at the door. "C'mon Tails!   
Let's juice!" He decided.  
  
"All right!" Tails said and grabbed the hedgehog around the neck.  
They sped off after their fellow freedom fighters.  
  
Rotor was left all alone in the kitchen. "Ohhhh... chilli dogs!" He said   
picking up the plate.  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
"Is he still asleep?"   
  
"Yah... he usually gets up so early."  
  
"Maybe he stayed up late."   
  
"Wake him up."  
  
"What? No, you wake him up."   
  
"I'm not gonna do it. He'll get mad."  
  
"Make Charmy do it."  
  
"Huh? Me? No way. He'll wack me off the entire island!"  
  
"Well, I'm not gonna do it." Atleast four voices started to argue.  
  
Knuckles opened one eye. They seemed to be totally oblivious of the fact that   
he had woke up by himself and continued to quarrel. The armadillo took a   
swing at the crocodile who quickly ducked. The chameleon got hit in the face   
instead. The bee burst into laughter.  
  
Knuckles decided to break the fight up before it got ugly. "Nobody   
has to wake me up." He said standing up.  
  
They all froze."Oh, good morning Knux." Said Espio, and let go of   
Mighty's neck.  
  
"Morning." He said, brushing his dredlocks out of his eyes.  
  
"Owch, man! What happened to yo face?" Vector asked.  
  
"Wow, it looks like you had a close encounter with a switch blade!"   
Mighty said.  
  
Knuckles looked confused. He ran his hand over the side of his face.   
He felt a deep cut. It was sore. Knuckles looked down into a puddle of rain   
water still remaining on the ground from the storm the night before. He could   
see his reflection clearly on the surface. It indeed did look like someone had  
slashed his face with a knife. He gasped.  
  
"It... it wasn't a dream..."  
  
"What?" Espio asked.  
  
"Last night I..I thought I had this horrible nightmare..." Knuckles   
said, still staring at his reflection, "B-but it wasn't a nightmare....it was   
real."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Mighty asked.  
  
Knuckles turned to face them. "I...I killed him." Knuckles mumbled.  
Mighty and Espio exchanged nervous glances. Vector seemed to not be listening  
anymore as he walked away humming to the music of his headphones. Charmy just  
sat on top of a mushroom and stared. Knuckles had been known to have a bad  
temper and occassionly start a fight, but he had never actually killed anyone.  
  
"You... you k-killed somebody...?" Espio stuttered.  
  
"Well... I.. he... we... it... it was an accident..." Knuckles   
stammered trying to defend himself.  
  
"How can you kill someone on accident?" Mighty asked.  
The color drained from Knuckles face. The faces on Mighty and Espio remained   
cold. Knuckles sensed that they didn't belive him. They either didn't belive   
him at all, or didn't belive that it had been an accident. Knuckles began to   
back away from them. Then he turned and ran into the jungle. Charmy frowned   
at the armadillo and chamelion. Mighty returned it with that 'what?' look.   
Espio seemed to soften. Without another word Charmy slid off the mushroom and   
flew after Knuckles. Mighty stepped forward as to follow them both, but Espio  
grabbed his shoulder. Mighty looked back at him. Espio just shook his head.   
  
Charmy glided quickly through the trees. He dodged the branches,   
looking left and right. The bee searched though the thick forest until he   
came to a clearing along the edge of the island. He noticed small sign old,   
rotted with moss and overgrown vegitation halfway covering it. In in the   
deeply carved lettering, Charmy could barley make the message out.   
  
"W-war..ing Landsend?" He tried to read. He thought about it for a   
second. "Oh. Warning: Land's End." He realized.   
  
Charmy turned and scanned the horizon. The sun was still rising at   
its slow state, turning the sky a light orange. The ground in front of him   
seemed to suddenly break off and steeply fall to the sea below. He had   
remembered them being above the forest yesterday. Charmy guessed the storm   
had drifted the island above the ocean. He stepped up to the edge and looked   
down. He felt his stomach do a flip-flop as he gazed at the greenish blue   
waves what seemed like miles below. He silently reminded himself that he   
could fly, and looked to the left, down around the side of the island. He saw   
where the land curved into a cliff that over looked the sea. Charmy saw a   
scarlet red figure sitting at it's peak. He reconized it as Knuckles.  
Charmy glided slowly over in that direction. He stopped a couple  
of feet short of the cliff, and climbed the rest of the way. He sat down  
beside the echidna.  
  
"Hi." He said softly.  
  
Knuckles was silent for a moment. "What do you want?" He said coldly.  
  
"I want you to explain...I'll belive you. I promise." Charmy said   
after some thought.   
  
Knuckles sighed. "Well, it's kinda a long story." He said.  
  
"I'm listening."   
  
Knuckles thought about it for a minute. He took a deep breath. "It all didn't   
start last night though. It all began a long time ago."  
  
"The beginning is a good place to start." Charmy said, settling down on the  
ground. He had a feeling, like Knuckles had said, this was going to be a  
looong story.  
  
  
"First of all, I guess I better tell you what happened last night."   
The echidna said, letting his feet dangle over the edge of the cliff.  
  
"Good idea." Charmy commented.  
  
"You know that storm we had last night?" Knuckles started.  
  
"Yah. What about it?"  
  
"I was still awake late that night when some lightning hit a tree in   
the Mushroom Hill Zone. So, I went to go check it out. When I got there   
though the fire had allready gone out. Then for no reason at all this guy   
jumps me and trys to pick a fight.......he was always good at surprising me."   
Knuckles explained.  
  
"You mean you knew this guy? Before he jumped you?" Charmy asked.  
  
"Yes. But I'll get to that later. Let me finish." He answered.  
  
"Okay, okay." Charmy mumbled.  
Knuckles cleared his voice and continued. "Anyway we got into a fight. Y'know   
the whole I punch you, you punch me routine. But then Clawz--"  
  
"Clawz? Was that his name?" Charmy interupted.  
  
"Yes, yes! His name was Clawz...Clawz Wildcat. But I didn't realize   
it was him until later! Now will you let me finish?!" Knuckles spat.  
  
"Geez, Okay. Go on allready." The bee said calmly.  
  
"Okay, as I was saying....He pinned me to the ground, so I flipped us   
both over. But instead of me being on top and he being the one pinned to the   
ground, we both ended up falling off the edge of the island." Knuckles   
continued.  
  
Charmy gasped.  
  
"I was able to get a grip on the side of the island. I grabbed him   
before he could fall. Thats when I realized who he was." Knuckles started to   
stammer,"B-But he was too heavy for me. I-I lost my grip on his hand and....."  
Knuckles didn't have to finish, Charmy could take a hint.  
  
"Oh no..." He said softy, "He fell off the island?"  
  
Knuckles nodded sadly. There was a long silent pause.  
  
"But you didn't KILL him. Like you said, it was an accident." Charmy   
spoke up.  
  
"I don't know." The red echidna answed sadly.  
  
"What do you mean? That you might have dropped him...on purpose?!"   
Charmy asked, looking up at him in surprise.  
  
"I don't know! Maybe I wanted to.... way back in my subconcious mind....   
for what he did to me." Knuckles addmitted shaking his head.  
  
"What did he do?" Charmy asked quietly.  
  
Knuckles eyes grew cold, and he clenched his large fists tightly. "He lied to   
me."  
  
Charmy raised an eyebrow. "You killed a guy for lying to you? Man, I'm   
surpised Mighty isn't in his death bed right now." He said sarcastically.  
  
"This wasn't just ANY old white lie, it was-", Knuckles turned and   
stared at Charmy, "What do you mean Mighty would be dead? When did he lie to   
me?" He asked.  
  
Charmy realized he had put his foot in his mouth. "Well, he, uh... Sorry Knux  
gotta go! Nice story! I just remembered I have a cake in the oven!" He   
stuttered and zipped away. Knuckles caught him by the leg before he could get  
very far. He held the bee upside down in front of his face.  
  
"When did Mighty lie to me, Charmy?" He asked.  
  
Charmy gulped. "eh heh...uh, you remember the time when Mighty said the Book  
of Myths got stolen, and then he said he found it abandoned in a puddle?"  
  
Knuckles frowned. "Yes..."  
  
"Welll.... It didn't really get stolen, him and Vector were playing   
frisbee with it, and it flew in the lake!.... On accident." Charmy blurted   
out.  
  
Knuckles just stared at him for a second. "What?!" He exploded suddenly, "Do   
you know how long it took me to iron that thing?! Oh, man! When I get my hands   
on that stupid son of a bi-"  
  
"Knuckles! Calm down." Charmy said pulling himself out of the echina's   
grip. "We were talking about Clawz, not Mighty."  
  
The echidna turned to look at the bee. He sighed, then sat down again.  
"Well to make a long story short--" He began.  
  
"Too late!" interrupted Espio, who emerged suddenly out of the shadows.  
  
"Hey! How long have you been spying on us!?" Knuckles demanded.  
  
"Mighty and I arrived here about ten minutes ago when--"  
  
"Mighty!? Where is he?" Knuckles shouted, anger filling him once again.  
  
"Over there in that tree," Espio said pointing.  
  
"Snitch!" A voice called from the branches.  
  
"Mighty, get the Hell down here before I have'ta go up there and  
pound you!" Knuckles yelled up at him.  
  
A big red armadillo promptly fell out of the tree and landed on his  
armor-plated back with a whump. He laid there for a second then stood up   
cautiously staring at Knuckles. Knuckles eyes narrowed and he clentched his  
large fists. Mighty smilied innocently back at him, with a tinge of fright  
in his mind. Knuckles stared at him for a long time, then quickly turned  
and walked stiffly back to the cliff edge. He sat down and stared across the  
ocean.   
  
"Phew!," Mighty said walking up beside Espio and Charmy. He shot an  
angry glance at the bee, who zipped off and sat at Knuckles' side.  
  
"Like I was saying..." Knuckles began again, trying to suppress  
his angers, "When I was just a child, about seven or eight...." he paused and  
his face saddened, "When my father was still the gaurdian, right after   
Robotnik had taken over Robotro-, uh I mean Mobotropolis, and I was upset  
because about a year earlier I had to tell my only friend I couldn't see  
her again during my apprintinceship. Now I thought she was truly gone  
forever..."   
  
Mighty and Espio slowly approached the cliff and sat down.  
  
"Who are you talking about, Knux?" Charmy asked quietly. "Who did   
you think was gone forever?"  
  
Knuckles smiled slightly, "Princess Sally Acorn."  
  
"But, she wasn't gone. We just saw here about a month ago." Espio said.  
  
Knuckles turned and looked back at him, "I didn't know that then. I  
thought she had been roboticizied or killed like the thousands of other   
not-so-fortunate Mobians." He said eyeing Mighty, who cringed behind the  
chamelion. He turned and looked back out into the horizion.  
"I wandered away from my father, to think things over and soon found  
myself lost in the deep jungle..."  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
  
Princess Sally burst into the recovery room to find the place in   
mass hysteria. Sonic the Hedgehog came in second, and ducked a chair that flew  
over his head. Tails dodged the sailing chair as he came in, and Bunnie grabbed  
it in mid-air a split-second before it hit Antonie as he strolled in last  
panting heavily.  
  
"Sacre Bleu!" He cried as his eyes met the scene before him.  
  
The wildcat they had rescued the night before was definately awake.  
He was thrashing wildly about and had a look of craziness in his large green  
eyes. He picked up another chair and hurled it across the room in their   
direction. Sonic pushed Sally out of the way and the chair hit the wall in  
back of them splintering to several pieces. The wildcat winced in pain and   
grabbed his arm, then colapsed on the floor. He switched from holding his arm,  
to holding his leg, and moaned in pain.  
  
"Someone do SOMETHING!" Sally yelled getting up from the floor.  
  
Sonic got up and slowly approached the cat on the floor, who was  
writhing in agony. When the wildcat saw his coming he snarled menacingly at  
him. With his un-hurt hand he lashed out at took a swipe at the hedgehog   
barely missing his face. Sonic jumped back. The wildcat lost his anger and  
yowled, gripping his broken arm tightly again.  
  
"Give me ah go at it, Sugah-hog." Bunnie said, pushing Sonic aside.  
  
"Be careful Bunnie!" Tails wimpered.  
  
Bunnie walked slowly to the wildcat's side. He didn't seeem to notice  
her and, was concentrated on the pain in both his arm and leg. He didn't know  
why they hurt so much, or why he was here. All he knew was that he wanted to  
get out of this place. Bunnie suddenly grabbed his arm and held it to the  
ground. He looked up in surprise and screamed. He wasn't expecting a half-robot  
rabbit to be holding him down. He tried to break free, but with out the use   
of his other arm and leg he couldn't move. She had her roboticized arm holding  
his un-injured arm down in a iron-grip. He winced as he tried to move.  
  
"Now y'all come down, yah hear?" She said.  
  
"I didn't do nothin'! You can prove anything!" He growled back.  
  
Sally gave Sonic a confused look. He shrugged and went to help Bunnie.  
  
"Here, Sugah-hog, get his legs!" Bunnie said, as the wildcat started  
to kick at her. Sonic grabbed his ankels and held then to the ground too.  
They picked him up and set him down on the bed.  
  
"Let me go!" The cat screamed, "I tell ya, I didn't do it!"  
  
"We aren't accusing you of anything, Sir!" Sally said as she walked   
up beside the bed. "Now just come down!" The wildcat seemed to ignore her, and   
continued his ramblings and struggling. "Where is that doctor when you need him!"   
She said looking around the room.  
  
"Here I am Your Majesty!" Said a large yellow duck as he emerged from  
behind a table where he had taken refudge from th flying furniture. He had a   
rough cut on his beak, undoubtly from the hysterical wildcat, and was carrying   
a large black medical bag.   
  
"Oh, Doctor Quack! Thank goodness!" She said, "Quick we need something  
to relax him!"  
  
"I know just the thing." He said fishing around in his bag. He pulled  
out a small bottle then pulled out a syringe with a two inch needle. Seeing  
this, Antonie almost fainted. Tails tried to steady him. The wildcat glared  
at the shot as the doctor filled it with the liqid in the bottle.  
  
"Oh no!" The cat said struggling even more despite his pain. Doctor  
Quack pushed some of his fur aside and injected the shot into the wildcat's  
arm.   
  
"There ain't...no...way..." The cat mumbled then went limp   
and fell asleep.  
  
Sonic and Bunnie let go of him and stood silent with the other   
on-lookers as they stared at the slumbering feline. "What, may I asked   
happened to him!?" Sonic asked after a couple of seconds.  
  
"Hmmm, probably just an affect of his concussion." Doctor Quack  
answered plainly. "He just woke up in a place where he didn't know where he  
was, what happened to him, or who all these strange people around him were."  
  
"So he went CRAZY?" Sonic said.  
  
"Yes, quite. A concussion, like his in his case, would make you lose  
control over you'r mind and body for a little while." The doctor explained.  
  
"Will he be okay?" Sally said, after another moment of silence.  
  
"I belive so." Doctor Quack said, "He probably won't even remember  
it even happened. I can say it didn't do those broken bones of his much help,  
throwing chairs and such, but I think he'll recover just fine." The doctor  
turned to stare at Sonic, "Lets just make sure that no other 'loud noises'  
occur to wake my patient up, please?"  
  
Sonic grinned sheepishly, "Yessir. It won't happen again."  
  
"I'll see to that." Sally said giving him an angry glance.  
  
"Doctor, did ya'll ever find out who this critter was?" Bunnie asked,  
changing the subject.  
  
"No, I'm afraid not, Miss Rabbot." The doc answered, "The only   
identifycation he had on him was, three letters carved on the inside of his  
belt: C M W."  
  
"Probably his initals." Tails said letting go of Antonie, who almost  
fell on the floor but was able to steady himself.  
  
"Yes, I thought so." The duck nodded.  
  
"What was he talking about?" Tails asked, "You know, 'I didn't do it'  
and all that other stuff."  
  
"I don't know, Tails. He might've just been saying things. He had hit   
his head pretty bad when we found him in that tree." Sonic said to the young   
fox.  
  
"I don't know, Sonic." Sally said, "I just don't know..."  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued...  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
  
  
Whoo HOO! I hope you enjoyed part 2 of my first fanfic! Stay tuned to find  
out what happens next in the exciting lives of everybody's favorite hedgehog  
and echidna!  
  
  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Legalities: Okay. ready, set go!!!  
Sonic the Hegehog, Knuckles the Echidna, the Freedom   
fighters, the Chaotix, Dr. Robotnik, and any related   
characters are licensed characters of SEGA and Co.   
and/or DIC and Archie Adventure series Comics. Clawz the   
Wildcat was created by Erin Lindsey. If you want this   
story on your site, want to use any of my characters, or   
have any complications send them to:   
  
diamondneko@mail.com  
http://sheliacw.tripod.com  
  
Okay enough of that...  



	2. Past to Present

Past to Present  
or  
Friend or Foe? (Part 3)  
By: Erin Lindsey  
  
  
What happened in parts one and two:  
After a sudden accident Knuckles blamed himself for the victim's  
death, but what he doesn't know is that the victim, Clawz Wildcat, who was   
also the young guardian's childhood friend, is still alive and recovering in   
Knothole Village with the Freedom Fighters. What Sonic or Knuckles doesn't   
know is that this unexpected visitor has many more secrets than one may   
think. We join our favorite echidna again as he tells the story of his past   
with this mysterious wildcat...  
  
Most of chapter 5 details Knuckles past in 3rd person...  
  
(To fully understand Part 3, I highly recommend reading Part 1 & 2 first.)  
  
For legal information, see my disclaimer at the bottom of this file.  
  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
Chapter 5 - Past to Present  
  
  
  
Deep within one of the many dense tropical forests that dot the  
mystical Floating Island, our story begins as we find a young red echidna   
absentmindedly wandering beneath the trees. Upon this child is bestowed the   
responsibilities of huge proportions. The responsibility to protect an   
entire island. Right now the echidna is only in the early stages of his   
education, but his curiosity fills him with a craving for knowledge. He   
will have many adventures where he meets many people in his future, but at   
the moment he is only concerned with one. One certain Princess. Little does   
he know, as he wanders through the forest thinking of his lost friend, that   
he is being watched...  
  
"Hmmph. I don't care what he says...." The little animal mumbles to   
himself, " I shoulda never told her told her to leave......" ::sniff:: "And   
now I'll never see her again....." He sadly sat down on a rotting log, and   
began to cry.  
  
Suddenly he heard something behind him. He snapped around and stared   
at the trees. "W-who's there?" He sniffled.  
  
There was no answer, but the echidna crept cautiously toward the   
bush he thought the sound had come from. He parted the branches, and jumped   
back in fright when he saw a pair of glowing green eyes staring up at him.   
The eyes growled, then lunged out of hiding and onto him.  
  
"AHHHH!" He screamed and closed his eyes, "Don't eat me!"  
  
The animal on top of him laughed, "I'm not gonna eat 'cha! Eww..   
echidnas... too much quills...'sides, your just a kid." It said.  
  
The small echidna opened his eyes to find himself face to face with a   
even smaller, green eyed, wildcat kitten. He pushed the cat off and stood up.  
He stared at him. The cat was a lot shorter than him, he was brown and white,   
and had a big grin on his face.  
  
"Who are you, and why did you attack me?" The echidna demanded.  
  
"I attacked you because...." The wildcat paused to think, "It's fun."  
He said grinning wider.  
  
The echidna frowned, "It wasn't much fun for me."  
  
"Sorry. 'Names Clawz. What's Yours?" He said still smiling.  
  
"Knuckles." The echidnatold him.  
  
"Hi. Nice to meet 'cha." Clawz said expending a paw to shake hands.  
  
Knuckles hesitated then did the same.  
  
"Woah! Man, you got big hands!" Clawz laughed.  
  
"So?" Knuckles said pulling away, "You gonna make something out of it?"  
  
"Maybe I am, maybe I ain't." He said tauntingly.  
  
Knuckles took a swing at the wildcat, but at the last split second   
the cat ducked. Knuckles' hand smashed into the tree behind him. The echidna  
tried to turn and take another punch at the wise-cracking wildcat, but   
found that his fist was stuck in the bark of the tree. He struggled to get   
free, but to no avail. Meanwhile the young wildcat burst into laughter.  
  
"It's not funny!" Knuckles yelled at him.  
  
"Yes it is!" The cat said continuing to laugh at the echidna's   
predicament.  
  
Knuckles stopped struggling, "C'mon, help me! I can't get it out!"  
  
Clawz tried to stop laughing, and catch his breath. "Yah, right! If   
I get you out, you'll pound me wit' dose humungois fists of yours!"  
  
Knuckles sighed, "No, I won't! I promise!" He pleaded.  
  
The wildcat looked at him doubtfully for a minute, then shrugged.   
"All right," he said grabbing onto the echidna's shoulders, "On the count of   
three, pull as hard as you can, 'kay?"  
  
"Okay." Knuckles said, smiling.  
  
"Ready, Onnnne.. Twooooo... THREE!" Clawz shouted and tugged on   
Knuckles' arm.  
  
After a couple of seconds of pulling, Knuckles' hand came loose and   
they both fell onto the ground in a pile. Clawz crawled out from under  
Knuckles and stood up, rubbing his back. The echidna stumbled back to his   
feet and shook out his wrist.   
  
"Thanks." He said to Clawz.  
  
"Hey, no prob." He answered and walked up to the tree, "Wow. You can  
pack quite a punch!" He said examining the scars Knuckles' hand had left in   
the tree.  
  
"Yah, they're the only thing their good for." Knuckles said modestly.  
  
They both paused and stared at each other for a moment.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Knuckles finally asked, "I didn't know   
wildcats lived on this island."  
  
"Oh... We just moved here." He said softly, "Y'know... me and my dad.."  
  
"What about your mom?" Knuckles asked.  
  
Clawz flinched, "Ah... She's in Heaven."  
  
"Oh, sorry." Knuckles apologized, "My mom is gone too..."   
  
"I guess we have sometin' in common, then don't we?" Clawz said   
waving the subject off, obviously not wanting to talk about it anymore.   
Knuckles nodded.  
  
"Why were ya' cryin'?" Clawz asked.  
  
Knuckles turned away, "I wasn't crying."  
  
"You were to! I saw ya. C'mon tell me... who am I gonna blab it to?   
I got no friends." Clawz argued. Knuckles could sense a bit of sadness in   
his voice when the kitten had said that.  
  
"Well, uh.... You know about how Mobotropolis got taken over?" The   
echidna asked the cat.  
  
"The place where everybody got turned into robots? Yah, what about it?"  
  
"My friend lived there. I'm afraid she's....." Knuckles trailed off.  
  
"Oh," Clawz said "That's purty sad, man."  
  
"Yes. I'm gonna miss her." Knuckles said sadly.  
  
"What was her name?" He asked.  
  
"Sally." Knuckles said sadly.  
  
Clawz tried to brighten the conversation up, "Was she your girlfriend?"  
  
"NO." Knuckles demanded, then thought about it, "Uh, not... really..."  
  
"Wooo hoo!" Clawz whooped, "Didja kiss her?"  
  
"NO!" Knuckles shouted again.  
  
"HA! I bet you did! On the lips!" Clawz danced around the echidna   
laughing at him. Knuckles ordered him to stop, but the wildcat continued to   
tease him. Knuckles chased after him, through the forest and fields, until   
they both collapsed panting in the heat of the summer afternoon.  
  
"Boy, it's hot today, ain't it?" Clawz asked the echidna after they   
had caught their breath. Both children seemed to have totally forgotten their   
earlier disagreement.  
  
"I'll say." Knuckles answered, wiping the sweat from his brow.  
"Hey! I got an idea!" He said with sudden inspiration, "Lets go swimming!"  
  
Clawz wrinkled his nose, "I never did like water much."  
  
"Aww, come on! It'll be fun!" Knuckles pleaded, "Besides I know a   
great place by Mushroom Hill."  
  
Clawz sighed and reluctantly agreed, "Ain't like we got any thing   
better to do. Lead the way bro."  
  
Knuckles looked around, "Uh, Clawz.... Where are we any way? I was   
kinda lost before, and now I really am."  
  
Clawz sighed, "This way." He said and they both walked on a path   
until they got to the Mushroom Hill Zone. Clawz turned his head to the left   
as he heard a voice yelling off in the distance.   
  
Knuckles frowned. "Uh, Clawz.... I gotta go. That's my dad calling me."  
  
"Oh all right." Clawz said sadly, then brightened up a bit, "Maybe   
I can see you tomorrow!" He said.  
  
Knuckles smiled, "Yes! We can meet here tomorrow, around noon, maybe."   
He heard his father calling him, and frowned again.  
  
"'Kay, I'll see ya!" Clawz said.  
  
Knuckles waved and began to run away, "See ya!" the echidna   
dissapeared over the hill toward the sound of his father's voice.  
  
When he was gone, Clawz sighed sadly. He was happy to have a friend,   
but un-happy because now he had to go back home, too. Back there again. He   
hoped his dad wouldn't be too mad that he had run off, but he knew he would.   
He slowly started to walk back to his so-called "home", just as the sun was   
setting and the many moons of Mobius began to shine.  
  
  
****  
  
  
"KNUCKLES!" Called a large red echidna with a beard.  
  
"Right here, Dad." The young echidna said running over the hill to him.  
  
"Where did you go?! I have been searching the entire island for you!"  
He yelled.  
  
"I'm really sorry, Father.... I uh, got lost in the jungle." Knuckles   
answered truthfully. "I didn't mean to. Honest!"  
  
The older echidna sighed, then hugged his son. "It's okay. I was just   
worried about you. Don't scare me like that again!"  
  
"I won't Dad." Knuckles said, but had to think about how he was going   
to see his friend tomorrow. He wasn't supposed to have any friends in the   
first place. He was to be isolated during his apprenticeship, but Knuckles   
was not into following rules that much. He was a good student, just didn't   
keep his mind on his studies.  
  
"What were you doing in the jungle anyway?" Asked his father, "One   
minute you were at my side, the next time I turn around you were gone! I   
thought you had been kidnapped or something."  
  
"I just wandered off, I guess." Knuckles said, remembering his lost   
princess.  
  
"Well, don't let it happen again. Is that understood?" Said Knuckles' father.  
  
"Yes sir, I understand." He said.  
  
"Let's go home, and get something for dinner." The older echidna said.  
  
Knuckles suddenly remembered he hadn't had lunch. He was very hungry.  
He followed close beside his father all the way back to their lair, but he   
couldn't help looking over his shoulder as they walked, wondering if he would   
be able to see his new friend again. Knuckles would find a way, he was sure   
of it.  
  
  
****  
  
  
Clawz tried to creep as quietly as he could back into the tree house.   
There were empty bottles lying around the floor and he had to stealthily   
dodge them in order to not make a sound. One clink of glass against glass   
would awaken the huge sleeping wildcat in the corner. Maybe if he could just   
sneak past him, in the morning he wouldn't be so angry. He would be sober.   
Just as the kitten reached his bed, which was nothing but a thin sheet on a   
hard branch of the tree, he spied a half-eaten loaf of bread on the table in   
the middle of the small room. His stomach growled, and he realized that he   
hadn't had anything to eat in more than a day. He crept slowly toward the   
table, which just happened to be the one his father had his feet propped up  
on. He stood on his tip-toes and looked cautiously over the edge. He could   
see his father snoring loudly at the other end. He was a large mangy looking   
wildcat, with a patch over one eye. He was strong, strong enough to snap   
Clawz in two if he wanted. The little wildcat gulped and reached out onto   
the table. Just as he was about to snatch the food, a large black gloved   
hand reached out onto the table and clamped down on top of his. Clawz yelped   
in fright, and looked up to meet his father's angry stare. He whimpered   
slightly as the larger cat's grip tightened around his wrist.  
  
"What do ya think yer doin', boy?" He growled.  
  
"Well I was just getting something to eat..." Clawz stammered.  
  
"Where have you been all day? I thought you had run off!" His father   
said roughly.  
  
"I was just uh, I got lost... and I couldn't find my way back and I.."  
  
"Don't lie to me boy!" He interrupted, shaking his son violently.  
  
"Please, Dad I--" Clawz started.  
  
"Call me Sir, you little punk!" He growled back, "Did ya get you get   
anything THIS time?!"  
  
Clawz went silent for a moment. He hated to steal, it just seemed   
so... wrong. He remembered a time before when they didn't have to be   
thieves, but that was when.... his mother was still alive. Ever since her   
death his father, who was once a respected officer in the Mobotropolis army,   
had never been the same. He had started this insanity, stealing, and running   
from the cops, after he was booted from the service for drinking by none   
other than King Acorn himself. Sergeant Slash Wildcat was now nothing more   
than a drunken thief.  
  
"Well?! Did you? Speak up boy!" He growled.  
  
"No sir." Clawz whimpered softly.  
  
Slash snarled then tossed the kitten into the corner. "I should've   
left you in Mobotopolis!"  
  
Clawz suddenly felt a wave of anger flow though him, exterminating   
his pain. "Better than doin' THIS! If I were dead, at least I would be with   
Mom!" He yelled.  
  
Slash suddenly went pale. His eyes darkened, but he started to   
tremble. "Go to sleep Clawz." He hissed coldly.  
  
Clawz knew if he said another word his father would snap. He had hit   
the thief's only soft spot. He could tell because his father was calling him   
by his name, usually it was just "boy". Clawz cringed back into his corner   
and shivered under his thin cover. He tried not to think of his hunger and   
pain. Clawz closed his eyes and fell asleep, to dream of better times, when   
he had three square meals a day, slept in a warm bed, and had two caring   
parents to love him.  
  
  
****  
  
  
The next day...  
  
  
Knuckles sighed loudly as his father paced about in front of him.  
He hated lectures, especially when they had something to do with his   
'spiritual development'. This cosmic mumbo-jumbo made his head spin. He   
didn't understand why he couldn't just beat the crap out of anyone who   
intruded on the Floating Island. Meditation had no benefits as far as he   
was concerned.  
  
"-- And while I am away today, you are to remain here in the lair.   
I have some important business to attend to today. It seems as if our island  
has picked up some thieves. A couple of houses were broken into last night,   
and I'm going to check it out. It is my duty as Guardian to--"  
  
Knuckles rolled his eyes. Not one of his 'It is my duty as Guardian'   
speeches again. He loved his father, but sometimes the big echidna could get   
incredibly boring.  
  
"-- Insure the safety of our people and make sure justice reins   
through out the Floating Island. The gods of Chaos are counting on us to   
protect the emerald, and their heritage." He finished and turned to glance   
at his son, Knuckles stopped slouching and sat up straight.  
  
"Why can't I come with you to check out the burglaries?" He asked.  
  
"Because I said so." His father answered.  
  
Boy, did Knuckles hate that parent line cliché. "Aww, c'mon Dad! I'll   
be real good and listen to everything you say!" He pleaded.  
  
"No. Besides I want you to stay here so I know where you are. I don't   
want you wandering off like you did yesterday."  
  
Knuckles sighed, "What am supposed to do all day while you gone then?"  
  
"Meditate." His father answered as if it were obvious.  
  
"All day?" Knuckles said.  
  
"Yes, all day." He said, "Just clear your mind and relax. It will do   
you good. Remember, time flies when you're having fun." Then the bearded   
echidna waved good-bye and strode out the door.  
  
"Oh yah, loads of fun." Knuckles grumbled. He stood up and started   
for the kitchen. Suddenly he remembered that he was supposed to meet Clawz   
at the river today. What time was it? He ran to the window and looked up at   
the sun.   
  
"Hmm... maybe eleven or so." He mumbled.   
  
His father had taught him how to tell time by the position of the   
sun. It had never really proved useful to him until now, considering all   
technology on the island, including clocks, was discarded for some reason   
along time ago before he was born. He didn't know why, or really care at the   
moment. He ran toward the kitchen again to make himself lunch. He quickly   
prepared some sandwiches and tossed them into his backpack. He threw the bag  
over his shoulder and raced out the door, slamming it behind him. It was a   
long walk to Mushroom Hill, and he wanted to be there when his friend arrived.   
  
If he could get back home before his father came back, he would never   
know he was gone. He wasn't much into lying to his father, but he had made a   
promise to meet Clawz today at noon and he didn't want to disappoint his new   
friend. The first friend he had was gone forever, and he wasn't about to let   
it happen again.  
  
Knuckles raced happily along, trying to keep up his stamina by   
taking deep breaths and long strides. He ran through Rainbow Valley to get   
to the river. He would follow the stream around Lava Reef to get to the   
Mushroom Zone. He slowed his pace slightly as he saw a dark mountain poking   
above the horizon. Mount Fate had always freaked him out a bit. The black   
stones on it's face had eroded and shaped into that of a huge skull.   
Knuckles started to run faster again as he entered the ruins of the old   
echidna civilization. Smashed columns and great white marble boulders   
overgrown with weeds lay all around him. His father had told him many myths  
and legends that centered around this place, but they had only furthered   
his fear. He felt as Mount Fate and the Marble Zone as a place of death   
and desolation. It seemed to him as if evil spirits loomed all around him.   
  
Knuckles was glad when he reached the river. He jumped off the   
cobblestone beach and glided quickly over the water. He landed on the other   
side and stopped to catch his breath. He turned around to stare at the huge   
spooky mountain. The black skull seemed to being staring back at him.   
Knuckles felt a cold chill run down his spine. As soon as he caught his   
breath he ran downstream until the mountain was no longer visible. Only then   
did he slow to a jog.   
  
When Knuckles reached the curve in the river where he had told Clawz   
to meet him yesterday, he was surprised to see the brown kitten already there.  
He was laying on his back lounging in the mid-day sun on a bolder. Clawz   
was actually not totally brown, he was white on his chest and stomach. He   
had a blank look on his face as he stared up at the clouds. His tail   
twitched thoughtfully. The rock the cat was on hung partially over the   
riverside, and the water lapped gently up against the edge as it slipped   
it's way down river. Clawz didn't even notice as Knuckles sneaked up behind   
him.  
  
Knuckles had a mischievous grin on his face. He took a deep breath   
and then yelled at the top of his lungs.  
  
Clawz jumped up as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightening.   
His fur puffed out around him and he zipped spazoticially back and forth   
until he lost his footing on the rock and fell head over heels into the water.  
At first Clawz didn't emerge, but a nano-second later he bolted out to the   
river as if it was filled with piranha chewing at his tail. He stood there   
on the shore completly drenched until he heard a noise, he found Knuckles   
laughing his head off rolling on the ground.  
  
"Hey! You scared me!" He screeched, coughing after.  
  
Knuckles stopped laughing then looked up at the wet wildcat, and   
started laughing all over again. The cat's fur was all wet down and he looked   
like a dead rat.  
  
"You-you loo-look so fuh-ff-funny!" He managed to choke out.  
  
Clawz shook part of the water out of his ears, then shook his whole   
body to the tip of his tail to his two hind feet until he was moderately dry.   
His fur stuck up like it was full of static electricity. He tried to smooth it   
down, but was only barely successful.  
  
"Whe-when you w-were jumpin' uh-around--" Knuckles started to say but   
burst out laughing just thinking about it.  
  
"Yah, nice to see you too, Knuckles." Clawz grumbled.  
  
Knuckles stood up and tried to calm down. He wiped his eyes and   
stumbled up beside the fluffy wildcat. Clawz looked up at him. Knuckles   
looked down at him.  
  
"Sorry, I just couldn't help it." He said after he had caught his   
breath.  
  
Clawz just stared back up at him. Oh well, he thought he had laughed  
at him when he got his fist stuck in that tree. They were even now. He started   
to make conversation.  
  
"How old are you?" He asked.  
  
"Seven." Knuckles answered.  
  
"Ha! I'm older than you." He gloated.  
  
Knuckles looked skeptical. "How old are you then?"  
  
"Eight." He said.  
  
Knuckles laughed, "You're short!"  
  
Clawz frowned. "So what if I ain't big yet? I will be! When I get   
grown I'll be three times bigger than any ole' dumb echidna!"  
  
Knuckles' skeptical expression returned, "Yah, and I'm the queen of   
Mobius!" He said sarcastically, then stopped short of laughing in the kitten's   
face. Queen of Mobius. That's what Sally would have been when she grew up.   
The young echidna's face saddened. He missed his princess...  
  
Clawz noticed Knuckles' sudden change of emotion, "What's da matter?   
Was it sometin' I said?"   
  
"Huh?" Knuckles said snapping out of the trance he was in, "Oh no. I   
was just thinking about Sally."  
  
"Yah mean yer girlfriend?" Clawz said smirking.  
  
"She wasn't my girlfriend!" Knuckles insisted. "She was just my friend!"  
  
"Yah, suuurrrrre she was..." Clawz said still grinning.  
  
Knuckles just gave him a nasty look.  
  
"What made ya think of her? Was she short or sometin' too?" He asked.  
  
"No." Knuckles answered simply. "She was the Princess, and when I   
mentioned the queen--"  
  
"Your girlfriend was the Princess?!" Clawz said shocked.  
  
"Yes." Knuckles said then corrected himself, "I mean no, she wasn't   
my girlfriend, but she was the Princess of Mobotropolis."  
  
"Wow!" Clawz said seemingly impressed, "I saw her once. Quite a babe."  
  
Knuckles didn't know what to say to that. He just climbed up on top   
of the over-hanging boulder and looked down at the water.  
  
"So what are we gonna do?" Clawz asked, climbing up to stand beside him.  
  
"I thought we were going to go swimming." Knuckles said.  
  
"I've already been." Clawz said.  
  
"But I haven't--" Knuckles started but was cut off as Clawz pushed   
him off the edge and into the water with a splash. Knuckles quickly picked   
himself up out of the water. Clawz was staring at him contentedly from atop   
the rock.  
  
"You have now." He said smiling.  
  
"Ha, ha. Verrrry funny." Knuckles mumbled.  
  
"Wasn't it though?" Clawz said still smiling.  
  
Knuckles stumbled ashore and shook himself dry, splashing Clawz in   
the process. Clawz jumped off the bolder and tackled the young echidna. They   
wrestled for a couple of minutes, pounding on one another. Typical boys.   
They were pretty evenly matched, Knuckles stronger, but Clawz faster. Soon   
Knuckles had the kitten pinned.  
  
"Okay, okay! I give up!" Clawz wheezed.  
  
Knuckles let him go. "Ha! I win!" He said triumphantly.  
  
"You can fight purty good for an echidna.." Clawz said panting.  
  
"Thanks... I think." Knuckles said. "Your okay too."  
  
Clawz got up on all fours. He arched his back and stretched it out,   
then plopped down again. He yawned, opening his mouth wide and closing his   
eyes, then looked back at Knuckles.   
  
"Gee, I sure am hungry." He mumbled rubbing his stomach.  
  
"Yeah, so am I." Knuckles said, "Want something to eat?"  
  
Clawz's ears perked up. "Ya mean you brought food?" He asked hopefully.  
  
"Yeah." Knuckles said picking his backpack off the ground and opening   
it, "Do you want some?"  
  
"Do I?!" Clawz said eagerly.  
  
Knuckles pulled two sandwiches out and handed one to Clawz who   
snatched it quickly. Knuckles sat down to eat his, and looked up at Clawz who   
was demolishing his at a startling pace. Clawz stopped eating for a second to   
see Knuckles staring at him a bit disgusted. Clawz swallowed and wiped his   
mouth with the back of his hand. He sat down and tried to eat more slowly.  
  
"I guess you really were hungry... " Knuckles said taking the first   
bite of his sandwich just as Clawz finished his.  
  
"Yep." Clawz said licking his lips.  
  
"Why are you so hungry? Do they not feed you at your house or   
something?" Knuckles asked sarcastically.  
  
Clawz was silent for a moment. "I.. ah, missed breakfast." He said   
nervously.  
  
Knuckles looked confused. "Oh."  
  
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes.  
  
"Are you gonna finish that?" Clawz said pointing to Knuckles' half   
eaten sandwich.  
  
Knuckles looked down at his hands. "Uhh, no. Here you can have  
it." He offered to the wildcat. Clawz took it and ate it hungrily.  
Knuckles watched him in awe.  
  
"So what do you want to do?" He asked.  
  
"I dunno. What'd you wanna do?" Clawz said swallowing his last bite.  
  
Knuckles thought for a moment, then got an idea. "Hey! I know!"  
  
"What?"   
  
"I want to show you something."  
  
"What?" Clawz repeated curiously.  
  
Knuckles stood up, "Come on, I'll show you." He said starting  
to walk over the hill.  
  
Clawz jogged to catch up with him then slowed to a walk. "Where are   
we going?" He asked.  
  
"You'll see." Knuckles said.  
  
  
****  
  
  
Locke Echidna, Knuckles' father sighed as he looked at the ran-sacked  
house. Why would someone do such a thing?, he thought. He looked back up at   
the family. The two adult rabbit's were rather poor looking. The female had   
a small child in her arms with big pink bows tied up in its ears. The mother   
was crying softly as her husband tried to console her. The baby quietly   
sucked on her pacifier.  
  
"Did you see anything before it happened?" He asked.  
  
"No, Mr. Guardian sir, we didn't see a thing." Answered the male   
rabbit looking up the red bearded echidna in a white coat.  
  
"No suspicious looking characters seen around?"  
  
"Nope. None that I was aware of, Sir." He said.  
  
"What all did they take?" Locke asked.  
  
The rabbit looked to his wife then back to the echidna. "They took   
most of our money, and a couple of other things...."  
  
"How much money are we talking about?"  
  
The rabbit sighed, "About 300 silver royals."  
  
Locke looked surprised. That was a good amount of money. It had to   
have been their life savings. He glanced from the female, to her baby, then   
back to the husband.  
  
"I'm sorry, but there's not much I can do until I find the thieves."   
He said softly.  
  
The female let out a sob, and held her baby tightly.   
  
"We understand." The male said nodding soberly.  
  
Locke felt a stab of guilt in his stomach. The world today...  
full of such evil. He reached slowly into his pocket and pulled out a small   
pouch.  
  
"Here. I want you to have this." He said handing it to the rabbit.  
  
He took it, and gently poured its contents onto his hand. At least 50   
golden coins fell onto his palm. His wife gasped.  
  
"Sir, we can't take this--" He said offering it back to Locke.  
  
"No." He said pushing it back toward the rabbit. "You need it more   
than I do."  
  
The rabbit smiled, "Thank you...."  
  
Locke nodded. He turned and started to leave.  
  
"Wait, Sir..." Said the female.  
  
Locke turned back to look at her. She had not said a word since he   
had came. She handed the baby to her husband then walked up to him. He could   
still see the tears in her eyes. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.   
Locke blushed slightly. She female quickly returned to her husband's side. He   
put his arm around her.  
  
"Don't worry," Locke said, "When I find the thieves I'll get your   
money back."  
  
"You've already done more than enough..." The rabbit said.  
  
Locke waved good-bye and left. He felt good. He loved doing his job.   
He just wished that he didn't have to. As long as there was evil he had a job,   
and that's the part he hated about it. His mind wandered over the burglaries   
victims he had helped today. They were all families with children. He sighed   
sadly, another part he hated about being a guardian was that the his wife   
had no say in the upbringing of their child, the future guardian, his son   
Knuckles. That was why Lara-Le had left him. He didn't like the idea either,   
but it was a rule, and he intended to follow them. He just wished that he   
didn't have to. At least he still had Knuckles to keep him going. Locke   
decided to go home early to take his son with him on the patrol around the   
island tonight. Knuckles had been meditating all day, he deserved a break...  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
"Are we there yet?" Clawz asked for the millionth time.  
  
Knuckles grumbled, knowing the wildcat was just doing it to annoy him.  
"Almost! Just keep your pants on!"  
  
"I don't wear any pants, and neither do you." Clawz pointed out.  
  
"It's a figure of speech." Knuckles said pushing aside some branches.  
  
"Oh," Clawz said as he ducked when the Knuckles let go and the branches   
came back in his face. He soon added, "What's a figure of speech?"  
  
"Shut-up." Knuckles answered. The wildcat had been asking him annoying  
questions the last entire thirty minutes.  
  
"Shut-up? Is shut-up a figure of speech?" Clawz asked.  
  
"I don't know." The echidna said stiffly. He then stopped in the middle   
of a clearing. "Here we are!" He announced throwing his arms up.  
  
Clawz looked around. All he could see was ordinary grass and ordinary   
trees and ordinary rocks. Everything was ordinary. "So? What's so special   
about this place?" He asked, a bit annoyed that the echidna had drug him   
half across the island to see this.  
  
"Promise you won't tell?" Knuckles said turning to look at him.  
  
"Why? I don't see anything to tell about!" Clawz said.  
  
"Just promise and I'll show you!"  
  
"Okay, okay. I promise."  
  
"Do you really promise? Do you cross your heart and hope to die if you  
tell?" Knuckles chanted.  
  
"Yep. I promise." Clawz said crossing his hand over his heart.  
  
"You can't tell anybody! Not even your Dad, okay?"  
  
"Believe me, Knux, he would be the last one I told." Clawz said, "Now are   
you gonna show me our not?"  
  
Knuckles hesitated. He glanced quickly around, the motioned Clawz to   
follow him.   
  
Neither of them noticed the watchful eye of one certain big brown cat-burglar.  
  
Knuckles stopped at the end of the path where the trees and plant life  
had blocked the way... or so it seemed. He sat and stared at it for a moment  
as if searching it.  
  
"What are you doing?" Clawz asked.  
  
Knuckles turned back to scold him, "Shhh!! Be quiet. I have to concentrate!"   
He hissed.  
  
"Geez, sorry..." Clawz mumbled, but watched the echidna intently.  
  
"Oh, here it is." Knuckles mumbled pushing aside some leaves to reveal  
a small silver panel welded into a large rock, which Clawz could now see was  
what all the plants were growing all over. Knuckles stared at it a minute   
thinking, then put his palm against the panel, hoping it would work. It had   
always worked for his father. He thought hard. Open you stupid door, open!   
He thought. Nothing happened. Door, I, Knuckles soon to be guardian of this   
island, command you to open! He thought. The panel glowed slightly. Clawz   
watched with amazement as the rock suddenly disappeared, revealing a   
passageway. Knuckles took his hand off of the panel, smiling proudly, even   
though he did have a bit of a headache.  
  
"Wo-hoh!" Clawz said excitedly, "How didja do that?!"  
  
"Magic." Knuckles answered simply, starting to walk down the passage.  
  
Clawz followed closely. He stopped to admire the crystal covered walls   
of the hall. The sides shone a bright yellow and pink, ever changing with   
the light and his perspective. He reached out and touched it gently. To his   
surprise, the wall was soft and warm. It seemed to be pulsing, as if it was   
alive. Clawz stood still letting his fingers run over the smooth surface of   
the living stones.  
  
Knuckles entered a large room. He Gazed around it for a moment proudly,   
then spoke, "So, Clawz, what do you think?"   
  
There was no answer.  
  
Knuckles turned back to the hallway. "Clawz?" He called down it. He   
saw the small wildcat engulfed in a study of the side of the passage. He   
walked up to him. "Clawz? What are you doing?" He asked.  
  
The kitten seemed to wake from a trance. "Huh? What?"  
  
"Come on," Knuckles said, grabbing his arm, "If your so interested in   
that wall, your gonna think this is REALLY cool."  
  
Clawz stepped into the room. For a second, he was blinded by a brilliant   
green light, but soon his eyes adjusted. He saw how the walls of the hallway   
widened out into a massive circular space. All of the walls were covered in   
the living crystals, but that wasn't what caught the wildcat's eye. In the   
very center of the chamber floated a massive green gem. The light seemed to   
becoming from inside of it, reflecting off of the walls and then back to the   
emerald itself illuminating the entire place with prisms of all different   
colors. The gem alone was the most exquisite thing he had ever saw. The   
beautiful angles of the sides looked as if they had been cut by the Gods'   
own hands. Shining, shimmering, and glowing with an immense power that he   
could not even begin to describe. Clawz stood there spellbound for a matter   
of minutes.  
  
Finally, Knuckles broke the silence. "So?" He said, "What do you think?"  
  
Clawz turned slightly to look at him, with a look of pure awe in his eyes.   
"wow..." Was all he could manage to say.  
  
Knuckles smiled proudly and walked up closer to the emerald. Clawz   
slowly followed him, eyes locked on the precious stone.  
  
"C-can I t-touch it?" Clawz asked softly.  
  
"Sure." Knuckles said.  
  
Clawz slowly brought his hand up to the gigantic emerald. He gently   
touched it. He felt a sudden rush of warm energy. The emerald felt much   
like the wall, except for it was much more stonger. The gem seemed to be   
even more alive than the living walls. Clawz felt as if he was to speak to   
it, the emerald would answer.  
  
"Wh-what is it?" Clawz asked softly, drawing his hand slowly away from   
the huge green stone.  
  
"The Chaos Emerald." Knuckles said.  
  
"Chaos Emerald..." Clawz repeated. "What does it do?"  
  
"It contols the entire island. It's what makes it float. Without the   
Chaos Emerald, we would all go crashing down to the main land." Knuckles   
explained.  
  
Clawz paled slightly at that thought. He'd never been too fond of hights.  
  
"My dad says that our ancestors brought it here, to save the island from   
being hit by a meteor." Knuckles said proudly.   
  
"Wow." Clawz said, then stared back at the emerald. "It must be worth   
a fortune."  
  
Knuckles blinked, "I never really thought about it that way..."  
  
"Knuckles, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Clawz said   
looking back at the glowing gem, then back to the echidna, "You're the best   
friend I ever had!"  
  
Knuckles smiled, "You're my best friend too, Clawz."  
  
They just sat there for a minute, in silence. Both of them happy to   
finally have a real friend.  
  
  
****  
  
The sun was fading on the horizon of the Floating Island turning the sky   
a breath-taking array of colors. A single tall dark figure lurked among the   
branches of the tropical trees. He watched happily as the two children, a   
young red echidna, and a small green eyed kitten skipped merrily out of the   
rock door way. They ran off over the hill, forgetting in their haste, to   
close the door on the way out. The dark figure smiled wickedly his one green   
eye glinting menacingly in the light of the setting sun...  
  
  
****  
  
  
Knuckles sadly bid his friend good-bye. He sighed, then walked up to   
his front door and opened it. To his surprise, and horror, his father was   
standing there, his arms crossed and he didn't look very happy. Knuckles   
felt a cold tingle go down his back.  
  
"Hello, son." Locke practically growled, "May I ask where you have been?"  
  
Knuckles went pale, "D-dad? Wh-what are you doing home?" the little   
echidna managed to stammer.  
  
Locke stared at him coldly for a moment. "I came home early. I wanted   
to come home and take you on my patrol with me."  
  
Knuckles cringed with guilt. "Oh." He mumbled.  
  
"It seems that we've both been busy today." Locke said, "Now I'll ask   
you one more time, where have you been?!"  
  
"Well I... uh-humm..." Knuckles mumbled, "I was in the Chaos Chamber."  
  
Locke looked slightly surprised. "Really," He said suspiciously, "How   
did you get in? I locked the Zoot Shute up yesterday."  
  
"Oh, I know. I used the secret rock panel entrance." Knuckles said, a   
bit relieved that he had a good alibi.  
  
Locke looked confused, "YOU used that? But you can only use telepathy   
to open that door."  
  
"I did. I commanded the door to open in my mind, and it did." Knuckles   
said rather proudly.   
  
Locke couldn't help but smiling slightly. He had never known Knuckles   
to be a liar, so he supposed himself to be a great teacher. "It that so?" He   
asked, "Did you use telepathy to close it or just push it shut?"  
  
Suddenly the look of confidence drained from his face. He went pale   
again with a sudden bolt of realization.  
  
"Oops..." He said softly.  
  
"What?" Locke said, already assuming the bad news.  
  
Knuckles looked up at his father cautiously, getting ready to run for   
cover when his father blew his top, " I... I forgot to.. to close the door..."   
He said innocently.  
  
A look of pure rage filled Locke at that moment. "You WHAT?!"  
  
Before Knuckles could repeat himself, a quake shook the ground tossing   
both echidnas to the ground. Locke got back up quickly.  
  
"DAMMMIT! There's someone trying to get the emerald!" He shouted.  
  
Knuckles had never heard his father cuss before. It scared him.  
  
Locke threw open the door and rushed out. Knuckles overcame his fear   
quickly and started to follow him. Locke noticed this and reeled around to   
face his son again. Knuckles' fear returned.  
  
"YOU are staying HERE!" The older echidna demanded.  
  
"B-but Dad... I'm sorry!" Knuckles said, holding back tears.  
  
"Well, sorry isn't good enough!" Locke said, "You're are in serious   
trouble, young man. Don't push it!"   
  
He then stormed out the door and slammed it loudly. Knuckles sat there   
for a second staring at the closed door. He had never seen his father that   
angry before. He sat down on the ground in front of the door and started   
sobbing softly.  
  
****  
  
Locke reached the entrance to the Chaos Camber Quickly. The door was   
indeed wide open. He made a dash for the hall way, but was thrown backwards   
out the door again as the island shook with another quake. He stumbled back   
to his feet and sped down the hall way.  
  
He wasn't surprised to find the large mangy looking wildcat trying to   
pull the emerald from it's pedestal. Locke didn't hesitate to tackle the cat   
to the ground. The surprised wildcat cat had little time to react before the   
echidna had thrown him up against the wall. The wildcat stood up slowly. He   
turned to see the echidna staring at him from in between him and the jewel.   
The wildcat smiled evilly.  
  
"Well looky what we got 'ere." He growled, "Fresh meat."  
  
"Hardly." Locke said confidently, "I am the guardian of this island,   
and you sir, are intruding on private property."  
  
"Is dat so?" The wildcat said, "Well, I'm Slash Wildcat, infamous   
cat-burglar, and you echidna, are dead!" With that he lunged at the echidna   
viciously.  
  
Locke smiled blandly, and a split second before the wildcat was upon   
him, he disappeared. The wildcat plowed into the emerald head first sending   
his mind spinning. Locke reappeared behind him and promptly kicked Slash in   
the stomach. The cat winced in pain holding his stomach protectively.   
  
Locke laughed. "Stupid wildcat! You are no match for a Guardian!"  
He mocked, "I'll give you one more chance to give up before I knock you   
senseless."  
  
Slash growled and took one last swing at the echidna. Locke held to   
his threat and easily dodged and threw the wildcat up against the wall again,  
knocking him unconscious. Locke smiled. That was almost too easy. He picked   
up the wildcat, who must have been twice his size, and tried to carry him   
down the hall. About half way, Locke had to stop to catch his breath.  
  
He sat the wildcat on the floor momentarily, "I guess I'm not getting   
any younger." He mumbled, rubbing his back.  
  
Suddenly the cat's eye snapped open. Without warning, Slash grabbed   
the unsuspecting echidna by the heels and hurled him out the doorway into   
the clearing. Before Locke could realize what had happened the wildcat had   
already pinned him to the ground.  
  
Slash laughed, "Look who laughin' now, Mister Guardian!" He snarled   
into the echidna's ear.  
  
Locke struggled to throw the cat off, but Slash caught him around the   
neck, choking him. Locke could barely breathe. The wildcat smiled wickedly   
at his victim's discomfort. Suddenly something klonked the wildcat on the   
head. Slash fell off Locke, this time really unconscious. Locke smiled, and   
picked up the rock he had used to hit the wildcat over the head with. He   
pushed the limp cat's body off of himself and stood up. He took some   
handcuffs and snapped them around the wildcat's wrists and ankles before.   
Turning back to the Chaos Chamber to check the emerald and close and hide   
the door again.  
  
  
*****  
  
  
Clawz had heard something back in the clearing when he had began to   
walk back to his own house. He had started to go back when the earthquake   
threw him off his feet. It took him a while to recover, but when he got back   
up he raced to the Chaos Chamber entrance. What he found there, more than   
surprised him.  
  
"D-Dad??" He said softly, approaching the chained and unconscious   
wildcat laying in the middle of the clearing.   
  
There was no answer.  
  
He nudged his father and tried to revive him, "Dad! Wake up! Da-aad!" He said.  
  
"Hmm? Ugghh... Boy? Wha... What happened??" Slash said partially   
awakening, half opening his one good eye.  
  
"Dad! You're all chained up!" Clawz realized.  
  
Slash was now awake fully. He remembered now. "I was... attacked, yah   
that's it attacked, by this crazy echidna. He beat me up then put dem cuffs   
on me. Help me out boy, before that mad-man comes back!" He lied.  
  
Clawz believed him. "Oh my god. Here lemme try and get 'dese things   
offa you." He bent down and began trying to pick the locks.  
  
"Well, what have we got here?" Locke said standind over them both. "A   
little accomplice?"  
  
Clawz gasped and tried to dash away, but the big echidna already had   
him. Clawz yelped as he picked him up by the scruff of his neck and held him   
up in from of his face. Locke looked the kitten over thoroughly. Clawz   
curled into a tight ball, as if trying to disappear.   
  
Slash was struggling with the cuffs on the ground, but with the strong metal   
and his ankles and wrists hooked together he could do nothing to help. Locke   
tied a rope to the cuffs, and while still holding the kitten in one hand he   
dragged them back to the lair.  
  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
Knuckles was sitting by the window sill waiting for his father to   
return when he saw him tugging the large cat behind him and holding a brown   
ball in the other. He wiped his eyes quickly and went to the door and   
cracked it slightly to see out.  
  
His father was opening the padlock to the small prison cell that they   
had behind the house. He opened the door and lugged the big cat in, came out   
quickly, shut the door, and locked it again. He wasn't carrying the brown   
ball anymore, either. Locke turned back to the house. He saw Knuckles watching   
him through the crack. The little echidna quickly closed the door and ran   
back to his room. Locke sighed and walked towards the doorway.   
  
A couple seconds later Knuckles was in his bed pretending to be asleep.   
Locke opened the door and looked in. Knuckles tried to lie perfectly still   
and not make a sound. Locke smiled slightly. He would punish him in the   
morning. He closed the door softly and walked down the hall to his study.   
After Knuckles could no longer hear his fathers footsteps, he opened his   
eyes and sat up.   
  
I wonder who he put in the jail outside, Knuckles thought. Without   
another though about it, he climbed out the window and went to the back of   
the house. He pushed a rock up to the doorway and climbed up on it to look   
into the small barred window at the top of the door. The big wildcat was   
asleep, or unconscious, on the bench in the back. He didn't notice Clawz   
sitting directly behind the door until he heard the kitten sniffle softly,   
trying to hold back tears.  
  
"Clawz? Is that you??" He wispered.  
  
The small cat looked up at him. "Knuckles? What are you doing here??"   
He asked.  
  
"You tell me first." Knuckles said.  
  
"Me and my dad over 'dere got jumped by 'dis big crazy echidna, then   
he put us in here!" Clawz said, "Can you help us get out?"  
  
"I don't think so, Clawz." He said with a sudden tone of anger in his   
voice.  
  
"What? Why not? You sound mad." Clawz said.  
  
"Hmmph! Do I look stupid?" He said.  
  
"Uh... Well..." Clawz decied to be serious for once, "No. You ain't dumb."   
He answered.  
  
"Then why are you playing me for a sap??" Knuckles growled.  
  
"Huh? What ARE you talking about?!" Clawz asked, very confused.  
  
"That 'big crazy echidna' you were refferring to is my father!"  
  
Clawz was silent in quiet surprise.   
  
"You don't think I'm really gonna buy that! I know what you did..."   
Knuckles said angrily.  
  
"I didn't do anything!" Clawz defended.  
  
"You broke a promise! You lied!" He growled.  
  
"I never broke no promises!" He insisted.  
  
"You did too! You told your father where the Chaos Emerald was! You   
purposely made me forget to close the door so you and him could rob us blind!"  
  
"It ain't true! I didn't do nothing!" Clawz said.  
  
"Liar!" Knuckles snorted, "If you didn't tell him where the emerald   
was who did? Someone had to because how else would we have earthquakes   
unless someone was messing with the emerald? You told your dad and he tried   
to steal it, but my father, the Guardian of the Floating Island stopped him!"  
  
"Knuckles, you gotta believe me! I would never--"  
  
"I should have listened to my father." Knuckles interrupted, "I should   
have never trusted you or anybody! Friends just aren't worth it! I hope I   
never see you again!" He yelled then he dissappeared from the window.  
  
"Knuckles wait! Come back I didn't tell him! I... I... I promise I   
didn't..." Clawz pleaded.  
  
He called and called but, Knuckles didn't answer. He had gone back   
through his window already. Clawz slowy slid back down the door to the   
ground. He had only had a best friend for thirty minutes, and already his   
hateful life had ruined it for him. Clawz realized that his father probably   
was trying to steal the emerald. He would do anything for a buck: Lie, cheat,   
and steal...  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
The next morning after Locke had found the hideout of the two wildcats   
and returned the money and belonging to the victims, he sent word to a local   
bounty hunter, a weasel, that he was willing to hand over the wanted criminal:   
Slash M. Wildcat, for a certain amount, that is. The bounty hunter came as   
soon as he could to collect him. He was a big weasel with dark purple fur   
and a design tatooed into his left shoulder. He wore a tan fedora   
that covered his eyes. He was a bit surprised when he saw the kitten with   
him.  
  
"Who-es da kid?" The bounty hunter asked. He talked with a bad lisp.  
  
"He's comes in the package. No extra charge." Locke said, buissnessman-like.  
  
"Hmm." The weasel thought a moment, "Well I geusses that would be okay.   
Es long as 'he don't costs nothin'. He could work wiv meself and me son. They   
ain't gonna give me anyt'ing for a liddle kiddens." He said. The weasel handed   
Locke a small pouch of coins, then began to walk back towards his aircraft.   
Locke poured the contents out onto his palm. He frowned. He grabbed the   
weasel by the tail.  
  
"The deal was for fifteen silvers. There are only ten silver royals   
and five brass'. Are you trying to cheat me, Bounty Hunter??" Locke asked   
angrily.  
  
"Uh, no.. No! Of courses not, Zurr!" He stammered, "I was never being   
good wiv the countings. I just forgot a fews." He pulled another pouch from   
his pocket and handed it to Locke, too. He checked the amount before   
releasing the weasle's tail and letting them on thier way.  
  
Knuckles was watching all of this sadly from his bedroom window. He   
had been confined to his room for three whole weeks with no playing outside   
or anything. He wasn't particular upset about this at the moment, though.   
He thought Clawz was his friend. No, he was just a really good lair. The   
one person who he trusted, besides his father, betrayed him. He wasn't sure   
if he would ever trust anyone again.  
  
*****  
  
"...And I didn't for a long time." Knuckles finished, looking out over   
the horizion. The sun had risen to it's morning hieght, sending tiny beams   
of light bouncing against the tiny waves of the ocean far below the Foating   
Island. "That is, until I met you guys." He said turning back to look at the   
Chaotix, "Although I still don't fully trust some of you." He said eyeing   
Mighty.   
  
He smiled innocently. "What?"  
  
"Wow. How could Clawz do that to you?" Charmy asked, changing the   
subject.  
  
"I don't know. I don't even know why he came back..." Knuckles said   
sadly.  
  
"Maybe he wanted to apologize." Said Espio.  
  
"Yah... Maybe. I guess now I'll never know..." He said not looking   
back at him. He stared wistfully down at the sea.  
  
"Don't blame yourself for his death, Knux. Like you said, it was an   
accident." Mighty said, finally showing some friendship.  
  
Knuckles smiled weakly. "I guess your right. I can't dwell in the past.   
C'mon lets go do something fun to get me outta this mood."  
  
"Did someone say fun?" Vector said walking up to them.  
  
"Yah, Vec." Knuckles said standing beside him. "And geuss what?"  
  
"What?"   
  
"Since you didn't listen to my story... TAG! You're it!" Knuckles said   
wacking the crocodile against the back of the head.  
  
"Hey! Wait no fair!!" He protested, but everybody had already ran off   
into the jungle.  
  
  
*****  
  
"Look! I think he's waking up!" Said a voice.  
  
"Oh good. It's about time." Said a feminine, yet older sounding voice.  
  
Clawz opened his eyes slightly. Everything was blurry for a moment. He  
sat up, but instantly laid back down as his head began to swim.  
  
"Ugghh..." He grumbled, putting a paw to his forehead, "Wha' happened??  
Where am I??"  
  
"Don't worry, dear. Your safe here. You had a bad accident." Said the  
female, who was an elderly woodchuck. She had a warm and caring smile.  
  
Clawz stared at her for a moment, "Who are you?" He asked.  
  
"My name is Rosie, and this is Dr. Quack." She said motioning to the   
large yellow duck to her side, "He's going to help you get better. What's   
you'r name?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh, uh.. Clawz. Clawz M. Wildcat." He mumbled absentmindedly.  
  
"Well, Clawz, how do you feel?" She asked.  
  
"Terrible."  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
  
  
End of Part III!  
To be continued...  
  
Woah, what a ride! Stay tuned for Part 4, "The Falling Island," where we   
finally get some real action!   
  
Don't forget to look forward to Part 5 too, the exciting   
conclusion to my first mini-series!  
  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Legalities: Okay. ready, set go!!!  
Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, the Freedom   
fighters, the Chaotix, Dr. Robotnik, and any related   
characters are licensed characters of SEGA and Co.   
and/or DIC and Archie Adventure series Comics. Clawz the   
Wildcat was created by Erin Lindsey. If you want this   
story on your site, want to use any of my characters, or   
have any complications send them to:   
  
diamondneko@mail.com  
http://sheliacw.tripod.com  
  



	3. The Falling Island

Friend or Foe?  
Part four  
The Falling Island  
  
By: Erin Lindsey  
------------------------------  
  
Legalities at de bottom, mon!  
  
------------------------------  
  
Author's note:  
  
Read part one, two, and three before this one, ya monkeys!  
  
Action! Action! WE WANT ACTION! Okay, okay, geez don't get yer knickers in a  
twist! I'm finally getting to the real plot of this story. HOORAY! And it only  
took me three whole parts in advance. Hee hee.. I put a little romantic scene  
with Sonic in Sally kinda because it was just Valentines day. It's not anything  
to worry about, just a kiss. And don't worry, no more   
flash-backs. YIPPEE!! Well, maybe just one... ;')  
  
  
Lastish:  
Knuckles finally revealed his past with Clawz, the mysterious wildcat   
who fell of the Floating Island. Although Knux thinks he died, he actually,   
and fortunately, landed in a tree with only minor injuries. Sonic and Tails   
were able to save him and bring him back to Knothole. Clawz was revived the   
next morning, and went a bit crazy due to his concussion, but after he was   
sedated everything went back to normal... for a while. Clawz finally really  
woke up, this time with his wits about him, and now days later he is almost   
fully recovered and back to his annoying self. Meanwhile, Sonic and Sally go   
to check out why Robotnik hasn't made a move yet...  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
Chapter 6: "Acceptance"  
  
Robotropolis was amazingly quiet this evening. The dark grimy walls   
of the desolate city cast cold gray shadows across the dirty streets. Piles   
of broken window glass and browning paper lay strewn in the corners and   
forgotten in doorways. It was sad to think that once upon a time this horrid   
place had been the beautiful capitol city Mobotropolis. That was, until the   
evil overlord, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, over threw the King, and assumed the throne   
as the ultimate dictator. It was a awful time of war and death, but somehow,   
a small group of Freedom Fighters emerged from the darkness, they're only   
intent but to restore the peace to the tiny green planet known as Mobius.  
  
Suddenly the papers were blown astray as a blur of blue dashed by.   
Coming to a stop in front of a crumbling building, the speedy hedgehog   
released his passenger. She was a young red-head ground squirrel, a little   
bit tough looking, but none the less beautiful and elegant.  
  
"See, I told ya Sal. There's nothing going on here." He said to her,   
"C'mon lets bolt back to Knothole."  
  
Sally sighed and stared at him for a moment. "It's just weird, Sonic.   
It's almost been a whole month, and we haven't heard a peep from Robotnik.   
He just HAS to be up to something..." She said.  
  
"Maybe he's just cooling his jets for a while." Sonic said, "But   
we're not doing any good here. We have to wait until Uncle Chuck figures us   
out a way to get into the main computers."   
  
"Hmmph! You? Wait? Now that's a novel idea. I thought you would be   
the one willing for action." Sally said, a bit surprised at the patience   
Sonic was showing.  
  
"Yeah, well... I am but, I got other things on my mind." He answered.  
  
"Really? Like what?" She asked.  
  
"It's just that Clawz guy that we picked up... I mean, after what   
you said about him, maybe he really isn't on our side. He was acting pretty   
suspicious. He didn't even tell us what happened to him before he fell into   
that tree..." He said.  
  
"He said he didn't remember, Sonic. Maybe we should respect his   
privacy." Sally said.  
  
"When did you start sticking up for him? I would think you would   
hate him, considering he hits on you so much." Sonic snorted.  
  
Sally smiled, "I kind of like it. No one else around here ever seems   
to compliment me..." She said, sending a direct glare in Sonic's direction.  
  
He frowned. "I.. I compliment you... sometimes..." He defended.  
  
"Yeah, right. You never say anything nice about how I look."  
  
"I do, too!" He said.  
  
"Is that right? Well, c'mon give me a compliment." She said.  
  
Sonic paused, "Now?"  
  
"Yes, now." She said, "Come on, it wouldn't hurt you to stop acting   
cool for two seconds."  
  
He sighed, and thought for a moment, "You look nice." He mumbled.  
  
Sally frowned. "That wasn't very convincing. I want a real compliment."   
She said.  
  
"Okay, okay..." He said. He looked up at her. She really was beautiful...  
he took a deep breath, "I think you're the most beautiful girl in the world,   
Sally." He said softly.  
  
Sally looked shocked for a second. She then smiled and hugged him.   
"See that wasn't so hard was it?"  
  
"I guess not." He stuttered.  
  
She laughed. "C'mon, handsome, lets go back to Knothole." She said  
kissing him on the cheek.   
  
Sonic happily scooped her up in his arms and sped back toward the   
Great Forest.  
  
****  
  
  
"SNIVLEY!!!" A loud booming voice called, echoing off the metallic   
walls. Instantly, a small shaky looking man entered the room.  
  
"Y-Yessir? Is there something the matter, sir?" He asked nervously.  
  
"Where is that stupid wildcat?!" Robotnik bellowed, "I thought we had  
a deal! It's been almost two weeks!!"   
  
"Well, s-sir... I'm not sure, sir. He said that he might have to hide  
out for a while. His partner had disappeared, remember?" Snivley reminded.  
  
"Ah yes, the wildcat's partner, Mr. Nack Weasel. I do remember him. I   
hired him to kill the hedgehog for me a while back, correct Snivley?"  
  
"Correct, sir. He failed." Snivley said.  
  
"I know that! Hmmph!! Yes. That's why I don't trust this wildcat.   
He should have brought me the materials by now. I hate working with dumb   
animals."  
  
"I'm sure he's trying as hard as he can to get here..."  
  
  
****  
  
  
::ahem::...  
  
::ahem::....  
  
::AHEM::.....  
  
"I said AHEM! What does it take to get a drink 'round dis place?!"   
said a rather large brown wildcat who was sitting up in a bed, his arm and   
leg in casts.  
  
"Here you go. I take it y'all is feelin' better?" Bunnie grumbled   
handing him a cup.  
  
"Much better, Legs." The wildcat said taking the glass from her. He  
smirked idly. She frowned. This guy was really starting to get on her bionic  
nerves. At least he wasn't calling her "Buns of Steel" anymore.  
  
The doctor entered the Knothole infirmary. "Hello, Mr. Wildcat. I   
believe you are well enough to be on your feet now. Thanks to modern medicine,  
and a wonderful doctor, your bones have healed almost completely." He said   
holding up two x-ray sheets showing the wildcat's mended arm and leg bones.  
  
"But I thought you were his doctor, Dr. Quack..." Bunnie said.  
  
"I was." He said smiling proudly.  
  
Bunnie rolled her eyes.  
  
The doctor didn't notice and continued on, "Today your casts will come  
off. Isn't that wonderful?" He said happily.  
  
"I guess so, Doc." Clawz said frowning. He had kind of liked being  
waited on hand and foot. Actually he loved it.  
  
The doctor fished around silently in his bag until he produced a small  
cutting blade. He noticed Clawz flinch.  
  
"Don't worry, these are for cutting the cast off. It won't hurt a bit."  
  
Clawz didn't seem convinced. "Ah, maybe I'll jus stick wit da casts for  
a little while longer doc. They ain't that bad." He argued.  
  
"Nonsense. I won't have a patient of mine playing hookey. Your perfectly  
fine. You need some fresh air anyway." The doctor said, holding the cast that  
was still on the brown feline's arm. With out any recognition from Clawz, he  
started cutting away.  
  
Clawz decided it better if he didn't struggle. Those scissors looked  
awfully sharp. A couple of seconds later, the plaster came free revealing the  
wildcat's healed arm. The doctor moved on to his leg. Clawz mumbled something,  
but didn't object out loud. He bent his arm slowly at the elbow. It was a bit  
stiff and a little sore, but that was it. He looked down at the doctor who was  
almost finished cutting off his leg cast. He removed it carefully and handed it  
to Bunnie. She looked slightly disgusted, and went out of the room to throw it   
away.  
  
Sonic and Sally came in just as she was leaving. Sally entered the   
room first to see Clawz standing up. She was a bit surprised at his height.   
He was at least a foot taller than her, unusual for a Mobian. Sonic looked   
surprised too, but not for the same reason.  
  
"Getting your cast off already, Clawz?" Sonic asked.  
  
"Yup. Where ya been, Spikes? I missed your Little Princess..." He   
said smiling. Clawz had the odd habit of calling everyone by random nick names.  
Sonic found it quite annoying. He frowned. Sally was going to say something,   
but Sonic interrupted her.   
  
"We were on a mission." He said quickly.   
  
"A mission, eh?" Clawz said, still smiling, "What are you guys? Secret  
agents or something?"  
  
"Not exactly, Clawz. We're Freedom Fighters." Sally said.  
  
"Freedom Fighters? I've heard of you." Clawz said starting to walk out  
the door, a bit stiff legged.  
  
"You have??" Sonic said, surprised.  
  
"Sure. I get around. You guys is a pretty hot topic. Especially the  
Little Princess here." Clawz said casually, walking out of the infirmary into  
the warm spring air.  
  
"Me?" Sally said, "Who do YOU know that knows me?"   
  
Clawz didn't seem to be listening anymore. He was blankly looking up  
at the sky, as if he was searching for something. Sonic noticed a sad   
expression on his face.  
  
"Clawz... What's the matter?" He asked.  
  
Clawz turned back to them. "Nothing. Just thinking about an old   
friend." He sighed.  
  
Sonic and Sally exchanged confused glances.  
  
"Where's the little kid?" Clawz asked, changing the subject.  
  
"Hmm?" Sally said.  
  
"You know. The fox kid, the one with the two tails.."  
  
There was a pause.   
  
"You mean Tails?" Sonic asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yah, that's it. Duce. Where is he?" He asked.  
  
"I don't know." Sally said, "Why do you want to see him?"  
  
"I like the kid. He reminds me of me when I was younger." Clawz said.  
  
Sally wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Sonic didn'teither.   
Tails had visited Clawz in the infirmary a lot after the accident. Clawz   
would tell him about all the places he had been. And as he said, he had been   
around. They had learned that he was originally from northern Mobius, but   
ever since his father was roboticized, he had traveled the planet with his   
older "brother," who remained nameless. Tails seemed to treat Clawz like he   
usually treated Sonic. It was beginning to get on Sonic's nerves. As if on   
cue, Tails ran up to them.  
  
"Clawz! Your not sick anymore!" He said happily.   
  
"Nope. Nothin' can keep me down fer long!" Clawz said mussing up the  
kit's head fur.  
  
Tails laughed. "That's great!" He said, "Now I can show you around."  
  
"Good deal, Duce." Clawz said, "But only on one condition."  
  
Tails looked confused, "What?" He asked.  
  
"We have to visit the kitchen first! I'm starvin'!" He said.  
  
Tails smiled, "Sure! Lets go!" He said and took the large wildcat by  
the hand and lead him toward the main building.  
  
Sonic snorted. "He didn't even say 'hi' to me."  
  
Sally looked at him for a moment. She smiled and held his hand.   
"Don't worry, Sonic. He's just excited to have someone new around. We don't  
have many visitors, you know." She said softly.  
  
He sighed. "I guess your right, Sal... Or should I start calling you  
Little Princess?" He asked jokingly.  
  
She shoved him. "I don't think so, Spikes." She said laughing.  
  
He laughed, too. Sally was always good at getting him out of a bad  
mood. "C'mon lets go get today's power ring." He suggested.  
  
She smiled and nodded. He picked her up again. She put her arms   
around his neck and snuggled up against his muzzle. He went limp for a   
moment, then zoomed off toward the power ring pool, holding her tight in his  
arms.  
  
  
****  
  
  
Silent updrafts blew across the shimmering water sending warm breezes  
upwards towards the clouds. Knuckles stood there on the edge of the Floating  
Island letting the aroma of the salty sea air fill him. It was very refreshing.  
He loved the feeling of freedom the Floating Island had. It went wherever it  
pleased, drifting slowly among the mist. He tuned his eyes down to skim the   
water.  
  
"Well are you gonna go get them or not?" Vector asked. He was standing  
beside the echidna looking impatient.   
  
Mighty, and the rest of the Chaotix, were all swimming in a nearby pond.   
Charmy wasn't swimming exactly, he was sitting in the shallow water trying to   
keep his wings from getting wet. Mighty did a cannon ball into the water,   
splashing Charmy and Espio, who was floating on his back reading a book. They  
both started yelling at him. He just laughed.  
  
"I will. I can't see any yet." Knuckles answered Vector.  
  
"There's some." He said.  
  
"Where?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"There!" He said pointing down at the waves far below.  
  
"Where?" Knuckles repeated.  
  
"Right THERE!" Vector said, getting annoyed.  
  
"Where?"   
  
Vector growled.   
  
"Oh-hoh. There. I see them now." Knuckles said, not really noticing  
his friend's annoyance.  
  
"Good." Vector said, "And get some good ones. None of them itty bitty  
tiny ones." He suggested.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I know." He mumbled. Then grabbing a large bucket, he   
vaulted himself off the edge. Vector watched over the side as Knuckles   
dove into the water. In a graceful arch, the echidna emerged quickly letting   
the warm updrafts push him back upward to the Floating Island. He landed   
easily and handed the bucket, now full of fish, to Vector.   
  
"Thanks, Knux. MMM! We're gonna have fried tuna tonight!" Vector said  
smiling.  
  
Knuckles made a disgusted face. "No thanks. I think I'll have a   
salad." He said, squeezing the sea water out of his dreadlocks. Vector always  
made him get fish for him when he won at tag. Vector was crazy about them,  
considering that, because of the altitude, no fish could survive on the   
Floating Island. Knuckles shook the rest of himself dry then sat down by the   
pond. He sighed sadly. Espio sat next to him.  
  
"Are you still upset about Clawz, Knuckles?" He asked, setting his   
damp book down beside them.  
  
"Yeah. I feel so guilty. I mean, if I didn't have such a temper and  
didn't take his challenge, he would still be alive." Knuckles said.  
  
"You have to stop blaming yourself for his death, Knuckles." Espio  
said, "It wasn't yours, or anyone else's fault. Although it is a normal   
reaction to death of a close one, you've been acting depressed for days. I   
thought you and him were not friends anymore..."  
  
"Even if we were, it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have reacted like  
that. I feel like I've violated my duty as Guardian." He answered. "I could've  
saved him. I could have tried to fly down and get him... But I didn't..."  
  
"Well, now you can learn from your past. If you've really learned   
something from this experience, you won't let it happen again, therefore  
becoming a better Guardian. You can't change the past Knux, but you can   
change your future." The chameleon reassured.  
  
Knuckles stared at him for a moment. He smiled, "Your right, Espio.  
From now on I'm not gonna lose my temper." He said, standing up.  
  
Suddenly Mighty, who was standing behind them, gave Knuckles a push  
sending him splashing into the water.  
  
"Mighty! I'm gonna kill you!" He growled, spitting out some pond water.  
  
Espio stopped him, "But you said you were not going to lose your   
temper any more!" He said.  
  
Knuckles pushed him aside, "I'll start tomorrow" He said.   
  
"Heh, heh... C'mon Knux, can't ya take a joke??" Mighty stuttered.  
  
Knuckles just lunged at him. Mighty took off like a shot. Knuckles  
followed close behind, until he tripped the armadillo. Mighty fell headfirst   
into a huge puddle of awful smelling mud. He stood up slowly, covered up to   
his ears with clumps of it. Knuckles burst out laughing.   
  
Espio sighed and slowly shook his head. "Nothing ever changes..."   
  
  
****  
  
  
Night fell over the Great Forest. The purple skies gave way to the   
dark blanket of twinkling stars and let the beautiful glowing moons of Mobius  
shine. A cool breeze blew through the trees making a soft white noise of rustling   
leaves. It was one of those nights that made you forget that a war was raging  
the planet by day. It was the sweet serenity that was rarely experienced by   
the few citizens that were left on Mobius. It was a perfect night.  
  
"You were right Sonic. We shouldn't worry to much about Robotnik. No  
news from him is good news." Sally purred to him as they sat on the steps   
outside of her hut watching the stars come out.  
  
"Me? Right? Now there's a novel idea." He said sarcastically.  
  
She giggled, "No really. I'm glad we got to spend a quiet day together."  
  
"So am I." He said softly, putting an arm around her. She leaned on   
his shoulder. Sonic gently cupped a hand under her chin and brought her face  
up to his. "I'm really glad..." He repeated.  
  
Sally smiled. They tilted there heads slightly in different directions  
and kissed each other happily.   
  
Clawz decided that was his cue to leave. He shouldn't have been   
watching them anyway. He wandered silently away from the spot where he had been  
spying. He guessed it had become a habit. He had no reason to spy on them. All   
the animals here treated him with an odd kindness. It made him want to get out   
of the bounty hunting business. Besides, he had lost the cargo he was   
carrying for that jerk Robotnik, and Nack had somehow disappeared after they   
were separated a couple of months ago. They had been working as a bounty  
hunters, sometimes stealing items for Robotnik, sometimes stealing them from   
him. He never really had a real side in the war. But staying here in Knothole,   
the peace-loving rebel village, was starting to make Clawz think twice. He had   
so much going for him here. It seemed like a wonderful life, with a good purpose,   
something he had been looking for a long time...  
  
"Clawz? Is dat you?" A voice whispered.  
  
He spun around quickly. "Wha? Huh? Who said that?"  
  
"Over here!" It called, "In da jail!"   
  
Clawz spotted someone looking out a small window in the tiny jail house.  
He looked oddly familiar. Clawz stepped closer. He then realized who it was.  
He was a large purple weasel wearing a brown, old looking fedora and had a big  
front tooth sticking out of his mouth. You could barely see his eyes under his  
tipped hat. Clawz knew him well.   
  
"Nack?! What are you doin' here??" He asked loudly.  
  
"SHHH!!" The weasel hushed, "What are ya tryin' ta do? Get us caught?"  
  
Clawz lowered his voice, "Sorry." He said, "Bro, what are you doing here?"   
  
"You tell me foist." He insisted.  
  
"Well... I just uh.... dropped in." He said smiling.  
  
"Uh.. yeah." Nack said, confused.  
  
"What are ya doin' in a Freedom Fighters jail?" Clawz asked.  
  
Nack sighed. "After we stole dem parts from one of Robotnik's forts, I  
went to Robotrropolis to sell em back to him. After dat, he gave me some   
huntin' ta do. He asked me to get rid of the blue hedgehog for 'im. I tried,   
but them Freedom Fighters found me out and locked me up in 'ere." He grumbled.  
  
"You mean ya tried to kill Spikes?!" Clawz yelled, alarmed.  
  
"SHHH!!! Shad-up! I told ya to be quiet! Now c'mon break me outta dis   
joint!" Nack demanded.   
  
Clawz was silent. He stared at his partner, brother, and friend.  
  
"What's da matter wit you?? Get me outta 'ere!" Nack repeated.  
  
Clawz's large ears drooped. "I dunno Nack... I don't think I should..."  
  
"What?? Of course ya should!" He said, trying to keep his voice down.  
  
"I can't Nack. These are my friends--" He started.  
  
"FRIENDS?!" Nack shouted, forgetting to whisper, "You and da Freedom  
Fighters? What are ya talkin' about?!"  
  
"I don't wanna be a crook anymore Nack.. I never wanted to be... It  
was just the only way I knew how to survive... After me and yours dads   
disappeared I didn't know what to do..."  
  
"Look, brother, I saved you more times than I can count..." Nack said.  
  
Which is to what? Three? Clawz thought to himself.  
  
"I was your big brother for six years. I was your friend. I was tha   
one who taught you everything I know 'bout bounty hunting. Don't ya think you  
dats worth anyt'ing?" Nack said slowly.  
  
Clawz was silent again. He didn't know what to do. He was so confused.  
  
Nack stared at him hard. "Look Clawz, I'll give you some time to get  
this straight. Your a thief, and your never gonna be anyt'ing more. Now, get  
outta here. We're bustin' out of here. Tomorrow." He said, then stormed   
off the other side of his cell.  
  
Clawz stared sadly at the ground for a moment, then walked slowly  
back to his hut that the freedom fighters had let him stay in. Who were his  
real friends? He didn't know anymore...  
  
  
****  
  
  
Chapter 7: "The Plot Thickens"  
  
  
The Chaos Emerald glowed brightly in the crystal filled room,   
scattering tiny rainbow across the walls of warm pink and green mineral. Energy  
pulsed softly through the seemingly infinite veins of this ominous rock,  
giving the island a mysterious power. The Chaos Emerald, one of eight other   
magical jewels, might have been the largest and most powerful one of them all,   
but this was for one reason: the world, Mobius, was more chaotic than ever.   
The precious gem has been feeding on the power of evil since the peace was   
shattered that horrible Day of Destruction. Only chaos can come from this  
emerald, but it has been keeping the Floating Island afloat for years, only   
to secretly control its fate. The echidnas had, years ago, used it's essence  
to keep their beautiful home safe, but no good would ever come out of it.   
Sooner or later, the emerald would decide the island's death...   
  
  
****   
  
  
Rain splashed gently into the mud. The quiet night before had let way  
to soft misty rains, filling the Great Forest with a mysterious, almost spooky  
air to it. The bustle of the small secret village, Knothole, had faded and the  
only noise heard was the small raindrops hitting the muddy sidewalks. The night  
was dark, but the moon shone lightly through the dense tree tops making tiny  
pools of light on the ground. A lone figure stood beside a tree. He was tall,   
and rather feline looking. He didn't seem to mind that he was getting soaked.   
He had other things on his mind. It must have been pretty important,   
considering he hated being wet. It was important. It was a decision he knew  
would change his life, for better or for worse, and he didn't know which. All  
he knew was that he did have a brother, and blood is thicker than water. Even  
if he wasn't his real brother, Nack was non the less the and only family he  
had left.  
  
"Well? Have ya thought it over?" Nack said, from inside the prison cell.  
  
"Yah. C'mon, I'll get ya out." Clawz said solemnly.  
  
"Good. I knew ya would come to yer senses."  
  
There was a short silence as Clawz used a kitchen knife to work on the  
simple lock. Nack watched impatiently.  
  
"Did ya ever deliver dem supplies to Robotnik?" He asked.  
  
"No." Clawz answered dryly.  
  
"What? Why not?" He asked rather angrily.  
  
"I had set backs."  
  
"Set backs? Where are the supplies den? Here?" Nack continued.  
  
"No. I lost them. I had to hide out on Floating Island." He said. The lock  
clicked and Clawz removed it easily from the door. They opened the door slowly,  
trying to keep it's creaking to a minimum. Nack stepped out and they replaced  
the lock on the door.  
  
"The Floatin' Island, hmm?" Nack said thoughtfully forgetting to be  
angry about the lost supplies. "Ain't that the place that you lived b'fore   
me an m'dad picked you up?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah. C'mon let get out of h--"   
  
"The place with the big green jewel?" Nack interrupted.  
  
"Uh... Yeah. It's called the Chaos Em--"  
  
Nack grabbed his paw, "First stop, the Floatin' Island!" He said, and  
pulled Clawz down the muddy path.  
  
  
****  
  
  
The hours passed quickly and the dark purple heavens were already beginning  
to turn their beautiful morning colors. The troubled Mobian skies had cleared  
and tiny rays of light were shining lightly between the cracks in the clouds.   
It seemed almost peaceful. As they say, darkest before the dawn, lightest   
before the storm...  
  
"Hmmm... Interesting..." A small red fire ant mumbled.  
  
"What?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"Does the emerald seem different to you"?  
  
They were in the Chaos Chamber observing the emerald. "Different?   
What do you mean, Archimedes?" Knuckles said tilting his head to look at the  
jewel.  
  
"It's odd... It seems dimmer or something." He mumbled.  
  
"Dimmer??"  
  
"Yes. I doesn't seem to be glowing as brightly..."  
  
Knuckles frowned, "Oh, your just imagining things. Why would it be   
getting dimmer? It has infinite power." He insisted.  
  
"Hmmm. I suppose. Lets just keep an eye on it." Archimedes suggested.   
  
"Whatever." Knuckles said.  
  
Archimedes jumped off the emerald onto his shoulder. "Well.. I better  
go now. I'll do some research." He said and a second later he was gone in a  
puff of smoke.  
  
"Bye." Knuckles said absentmindedly. He sighed and sat down on the   
chamber's floor and closed his eyes. He needed to think for a while.  
  
  
****  
  
  
"Dimmer?" A large echidna asked, rather shocked. "Are you sure,   
Archimedes?"  
  
"Almost positive, Sir." He answered.  
  
"But that's impossible!" He said shaking his head, "We have always   
thought that the emerald had infinite power..."  
  
"That is what Knuckles said."  
  
"I figured as much. I did teach him everything he knows."  
  
"Of course these are only rough theories. No one has ever really   
figured out how the Chaos Emerald works." Archimedes said.  
  
"Good point. I suggest that we take a crack at it." The echidna said.  
  
"You mean figuring out what makes it tick?"  
  
"Exactly." He said motioning the art to climb on his hand, "Lets   
consult the Scrolls. Maybe they will tell us something."  
  
They walked slowly into a large room filled with shelves and piles of  
papers up to the ceiling. Books lined every shelf and some had been set out on  
a number of small tables and desks scattered about the huge study. They were   
pushed into their places with some of the leather covers draping over the   
rough edges of their pages.   
  
Archimedes groaned. "Good luck finding them." He said staring at the  
messy rows of miscellaneous books strewn across the room.  
  
"I know there here somewhere." The older echidna said setting the ant  
down on one of the desks.  
  
"Somewhere..." Archimedes grumbled starting to search through the books  
piled on the table top. "By Chaos, Locke! Now I see where Knuckles gets his   
horrible study habits." He said.  
  
"It's in the blood." He said walking over to a book shelf and   
scanning the many titles.  
  
Archimedes sighed. "Well it's not over here. What do you see?"  
  
"It might be on one of those higher shelves. I think I put it up there   
so no one would find it." Locke said pointing to the top row of books on the  
high shelf.  
  
"You did a good job." Archimedes said.  
  
He wasn't listening anymore. He stepped cautiously on the bottom shelf  
and stood on it a second trying to reach the upper shelves. He stepped up   
another row and reached again. He still wasn't high enough. Archimedes watched  
in amusement as Locke stepped up another shelf and reached for the books, but  
when he grabbed one the rest came toppling over on top of him. He was buried  
in an avalanche of books.  
  
"You know, Locke, you could have used that ladder over there."   
Archimedes said chuckling and pointing to a step ladder in the far corner.  
  
"Oh, now you tell me." He said climbing out of the books and dusting  
off his white lab coat. "A lot of good it does now." He grumbled.  
  
"Sorry. I just can't help myself." He said grinning.  
  
"Hmmph. Maybe you should get some professional help." Locke sneered.  
  
"Ohhh! Temper, temper Sir! I suppose that runs in the blood also?"  
  
Locke just snorted and began to sort though the fallen books.   
Archimedes jumped off the desk and went to help him. After several minutes   
of sorting, Locke raised a large blue, worn covered book.  
  
"I found it!" He announced happily.  
  
"Thank the Gods." Archimedes said.  
  
Locke went over to a nearby desk and pushed all the papers and books   
off it's top. They fell crumbled to the floor beside it. Archimedes shook his   
head . Locke flipped the book open and sat down in a chair. Archimedes climbed   
up to stand on the chair's arm.  
  
"...And the Gods set forth us a plain. A green world on which to live.   
Made by the hands of thine and forged from precious jewels, stones of the   
gods shall give thy power of unworldly ...." Locke read aloud tracing his   
fingers over the words in the book.  
  
"The Chaos Emerald may be powerful, but does is it infinite?" Archimedes   
interrupted.  
  
"Power shalt be in thine own world and thy shall make thine energy of   
the jewels. Control is neither to be controlled or with held. None shall use   
thy crystals with force." Locke continued.  
  
There was a short silence.  
  
"What does that mean?" Archimedes said, rather confused.  
  
"I'm not sure. Our elders sure were cryptic with their messages." Locke   
said stroking his beard.  
  
"... And thy shall make thine energy of the jewels...." Archimedes   
repeated thoughtfully. "I suppose it means that we control the emerald's   
energy..." He said.  
  
"Yes, but it also says 'Control is neither to be controlled or with   
held.' I guess that means that we cannot control it." Locke contradicted.  
  
"That makes no sense! We can control it, yet we can't? It's completely   
illogical." Archimedes observed.   
  
"True... But whoever said the Gods were logical?" He said.  
  
Archimedes hummed softly. "Read on. Maybe we'll find something else."   
He suggested.  
  
"Chaos not controlled can lead thine destiny, yet thine life is in   
thine hands. Foolish actions will bring chaos on to the world and thine   
fate is decided. The Others will set the balance."  
  
"There it goes again! Chaos controls our destiny, but we also control   
it!? You know I really--"  
  
"Wait a minute! I wonder what it means about 'The Others'..." Locke   
said and began reading the verses over again. "The Others will set the   
balance...."  
  
"Maybe it means you Guardians. You do balance this island." Archimedes   
said.  
  
"Mmm. I don't think so. Have you noticed that the book never refers  
to the emerald itself but as 'the jewel' or 'crystal'." Locke said, "And it's  
always plural... jewel-s."  
  
"Hmm... That brings up another mystery... Do you suppose there are  
other jewels, not chaos emeralds, but others..."  
  
"Could be... The Others will control the balance. I wish my ancestors  
were more specific." Locke said.  
  
"Well keep reading! Maybe the next verse will be more explanatory."  
  
"There is no more on this page." Locke said, turning it to read the   
next. "How odd. There is no more about 'The Others' or the emerald... How   
odd... I have read these verses many times but have failed to see their   
meaning. I don't know why...."  
  
There was silence again as he flipped back from the original page to   
the next. "In fact, these lines on the next page have nothing to do with   
those on the first. How odd..."  
  
"Hey... Wait... There's pages missing..." Archimedes realized.  
  
"What?" Locke asked.  
  
"Look, this page, the one about the emerald or whatever, is on page  
132. The next page is 142." He said pointing to the page numbers. "They're  
ten pages apart..."  
  
Locke was quite surprised. "I wonder why I never noticed that before.."  
He mumbled checking the binding between the pages where there was a slight  
gap. You could barely see tiny edges of the margins of the ripped out pages.  
  
"Maybe they got stuck somewhere else in the book." Archimedes said.  
  
Locke picked up the book and closed it then shook its pages. A small  
scrap of paper fluttered out and landed beside Archimedes. He picked it up.  
It edges were ripped, and he could only make out one full sentence and a   
fragment.  
  
"Emerald posses evil, the chaos unknown, and shall wreak havoc when  
the earth falls onto itself. It shall be balanced when the power of the Dia--"  
  
  
*****  
  
  
Chapter 8: "The Falling Island"   
  
  
Knuckles opened his eyes. He had felt a disturbance. A sudden cold   
feeling had rushed into the chamber, awakening him. He stared at the emerald  
for a second. Maybe Archimedes was right. It did seem a bit dimmer. He snapped  
out of it. He stood up and ran down the hallway. He had felt a presence on   
his island, and he knew how to deal with intruders.  
  
He dashed out into the clearing. He stopped abruptly. He turned back  
to close the door. There was no way he was going to make the same mistake  
twice. He went back and began to slide it when a hand reached out and caught  
him by the neck. He jerked violently away, but attacker held strong. He   
covered the echidna's mouth with a wet cloth. Knuckles coughed, trying not  
to breath the fumes, but the cloth was held tightly over his mouth and nose  
and he could not get free. After a couple of seconds he felt dizzy and   
fainted. The captor smiled evilly. This was almost too easy...  
  
  
*****  
  
"Princezz! Princezz! Coming quickly you must!" Antonie yelled loudly  
as he ran into the meeting hall. Sally and Sonic were sitting at a table  
talking. Sally and Sonic jumped up as Antonie tripped on the door step and   
fell on top on their table.  
  
"Ant' can't you see that me and Sally are busy?" Sonic said rather   
annoyed. Antonie was always overreacting and Sonic had gotten sick of it.  
Especially when he interrupted him in Sally in an important conversation.  
Actually it wasn't that important, but still...  
  
"Oh! My thees is terr-iblest ting! Sacre Blu! There is being no times   
to be wasting! We must find heem!" He yelled, letting his english get even   
worse than usual. He forgot all together and starting rambling in French.  
  
"Antonie! Will you calm down?!" Sally insisted.   
  
"Yeah, Ant'! What's the matter? Did you lose your deodorant again?" Sonic  
teased.  
  
"No! I am smelling 'Old Spicy' today..." He said, forgetting to be   
frantic for moment.  
  
Sonic smiled, "I guess we should start calling you 'Frenchy Spice'." He  
said then burst into laughter.   
  
Antonie and Sally both gave him a look of bewilderment.   
  
"Uh... Yeah... Now what is so important as to come in here screaming?" She   
asked, turning back to Antonie.  
  
"Oui! Oui! I have just found one of ours prizioners to be missings!"  
He said resuming his earlier emotion of panic.  
  
"What!? Our prisoners? From the jail-house?" Sally asked, becoming  
serious again.  
  
"Yezz! That's is whats I have been sayings!"  
  
"Oh no!" She said. "It was my night to stand on watch..." She said  
guiltily. Instead she had spent it on Sonic. She looked over and smiled at   
him. It hadn't been a total loss...  
  
"Why were you not watchings the jails then Princezz?" Antonie asked.  
  
"Well what are you two waiting for?" Sonic said butting in, "Lets  
go check it out!"  
  
"Right! Lets go!" She said jumping into his arms.   
  
"Hi-C-Ya, hold tight!" He said bolting out the door, leaving Antonie  
in the dust.  
  
"Where is he getting these dumb sayings?" He grumbled.  
  
  
******  
  
  
Rotor was fumbling around his workshop looking for some supplies. He  
stopped to stare at one of his empty workbenches.   
  
"Hmm. I could have sworn I left some chemicals here." He mumbled.  
  
Bunnie walked in at that moment. She was limping on her robotic leg.  
He turned to help her as she almost stumbled and fell.  
  
"Your circuits burn-out again?" He asked, although he already knew the   
answer.  
  
She just nodded, looking more than slightly annoyed.  
  
"I wonder why their burning out so quickly lately. You haven't been  
doing and strenuous activities with your legs, have you?" He asked.  
  
"Naw, not really. I've been workin' at tha infirmary helpin' tha Doc."  
She answered sitting down on the empty work bench.  
  
"That's right. Well I suppose their just worn out. We should get you  
some new main-function circuits. I've been repairing these for months, and  
I suppose that it's just time for a replacement." He said, opening a panel  
on her robotic calf.  
  
She sighed, "Ah guess so... Ah wish Ah didn't have ta do this. It all  
really gits on mah nerves. Ah mean, malfunctions, burn-outs, replacements,  
everything..." She said sadly.  
  
He looked at her with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry Bunnie. I wish I  
could do something..."  
  
She smiled weakly, "It's not your fault sugah. It's nobody's. 'Cept  
maybe Robotnik's." She said.  
  
"One day we're gonna fix this. We're gonna find a way to change you  
back." He said reassuringly.  
  
"Thanks, Rotor. I'm sure ya will." Bunnie said although still sadly.  
  
He began fixing her legs, probing it with a small wire-thin instrument.  
He got up to go get her new circuit block. He opened a small cabinet above   
the table and was surprised to find it empty.  
  
Bunnie saw the surprised expression on his face. "What's the mattah?  
Loose somthin?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah... Everything." He said, staring at the empty cabinet blankly.  
  
  
*****  
  
  
"Oh this is horrible!" Sally groaned as they examined the broken lock.  
"How could this have happened? There is no way he could get out on his own!"  
  
"It is how you say... Weird." Antonie mumbled.  
  
"Tell me about it." Sonic said.  
  
"This is just great! Now we've got a bounty hunter on the loose! He  
could go back to Robotnik, and tell them where Knothole is!" Sally said   
sadly, "...And it's all my fault!" She sobbed.  
  
Sonic put his hand on her shoulder with an uncharacteristic gentleness.  
"C'mon Sal... It's ain't your fault. If it's any body's it's mine..." He said.  
  
"No. It was MY responsibility. I should have been watching..." She said  
in a relenting tone.  
  
Sonic sighed. He didn't really know what to say to comfort her. He   
pulled her close and hugged her.  
  
Antonie watched the exchange looking a bit confused, but did not   
interrupt. He knew when to not butt in. Unfortunately, Tails didn't.  
  
"Sonic! Sonic! Aunt Sally!" He said as he ran up to them.  
  
They parted slowly and unwillingly. Sonic looked down at him, trying  
not to sound annoyed even though he was, "Yeah, Tails? Is their something the  
matter?"  
  
"Yes!" He said stopping beside them and panting, "I can't find Clawz!"  
  
Sonic snorted, "Who cares about him? We got a crisis on our hands here!"  
He said, unable to hold in his annoyance any longer. Sally shot him an angry  
glance. He just frowned at her.  
  
Tails looked slightly hurt but spoke, "A crisis? What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, Tails it's just that--" Sally began.  
  
Just then Rotor ran up to them. "Sally, ohmygosh, we gotta problem!"  
He said.  
  
"Is this running up to us for help thing becoming a trend or something?"  
Sonic asked no one in particular. No one in particular answered him.  
  
"Rotor, what's the matter?" Sally asked.  
  
"Everything is gone! My supplies, some chemicals, even that old hover-  
craft I was working on!" He blurted out.  
  
"What? Gone?" Sally said, "You mean stolen?"  
  
"Exactly!" He said, "Someone just up and snatched them!"  
  
Sally noticed Bunnie hobbling towards them. Bunnie just stood beside  
Antonie and looked the most annoyed of all of them. He put a arm around her to  
stabilize her and she leaned on him gratefully.  
  
"Why would anyone want to steal chemicals and robot parts?" Sonic said,  
wanting to be part of the conversation again.  
  
"I suppose Nack stole them." Sally said. "I don't figure why though..."  
  
"Nack? Nack the Weasel the bounty hunter?" Rotor asked.  
  
"Yeah. He escaped from our prison." She said, once again feeling guilty.  
  
"Oh no!" Bunnie said, "He could tell ole Bot'nik tha location uh   
Knothole!" She said, concerned.  
  
Sally felt sick in her stomach. She leaned against the prison   
building. "What are we going to do... He could be miles from here now..."  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
An incredible tremor shook the island. It was harder than any than  
earthquake before. You could almost feel the stress of the ground holding   
together as the weight shifted from side to side throwing off the entire   
island's center of gravity. Knuckles awoke from a strange dream to find   
himself tied and bound to a tree.   
  
"What in the--" He said trying to stand, but was held back by the  
ties. The ropes were tight, and he hit his head against the tree as another   
quake shook the island. Knuckles had a couple of obscene comments at this   
point.  
  
"Knuckles! Oh my god! There you are!" Mighty said as he found his   
friend tied up to the tree.  
  
"Mighty! What the hell's going on!?" He asked sharply.  
  
"I thought you could tell me!" He answered, bending down to untie him.  
  
Knuckles stood up quickly. "Someone must be messing with the Chaos Emerald!"  
He ran towards the entrance, which was left open, but was thrown back again  
with an even stronger earthquake. He and Mighty plowed into each other.   
Knuckles didn't waste anymore time but dashed into the Chaos Chamber,   
leaving Mighty in a daze. Knuckles emerged again a second later. He looked  
as white as a sheet.  
  
"Knux, who's in there?" Mighty asked sitting up.  
  
Knuckles stared at him for a moment vacantly, "...N-no one..."  
  
"Huh?" Mighty asked confused, "Nobody? What's the matter with the  
emerald then?"  
  
"Nothing." He said, still staring blankly, "That's just it. It's gone.  
The Chaos Emerald is gone!"  
  
Suddenly another tremor rocked the island. This one, even stronger  
than it's predecessors, tilted the island back and forth violently. Then  
as suddenly as it started it stopped. Knuckles could feel them falling. A   
sudden snap of gravity pulling them off the ground and down to the surface   
of Mobius. His stomach jumped up into his throat, and all the blood rushed   
to his head. The island was falling, and Knuckles knew it meant death for   
them all.  
  
*****   
  
  
  
  
  
End of Part 4!  
To be continued....  
(Don't ya just hate that?!)  
  
Part five, the conclusion of this amazing series, is coming soon! Don't  
miss it, it's gonna be GREAT!  
  
  
Author's (Second) note-  
  
Hello again! It's me, Erin! Anyway, before you go, I want to say some things.   
  
#1, sorry this part took me a while. We've been having the   
writing tests, and I've had to write like, four process papers in the last two   
weeks, and after that who would blame me for not wanting to come home and   
write some more?   
  
#2, as you read up there, Clawz thinks of Nack as a big   
brother, but he's not really. I mean come on, how could a weasel and a   
wildcat be brothers? Well, I guess they're kinda step-bothers considering   
that Nack's father, who will remain un-named, sort of adopted Clawz after   
the Guardian of the Floating Island (Knux's dad, at the time) turned him   
and his father over to him as bounty. But that didn't last very long...   
I'll get into that in part 5.   
  
#3, If you didn't already get it, I was making fun of the Spice Girls in the   
middle of Ch. 7 when Sonic calls Antonie "Frency Spice" and says "Hi-C-Ya,   
hold tight!," and Ant' comments on his dumb sayings. It a lyric from the   
Spice Girl's popular song "Spice Up Your Life". Personally, I think   
they're REALLY annoying...   
  
#4, I want to thank Alessandro for his praise and putting all my stories up   
on his page. Thanks a lot man, it means a bunch to me. Until next time, Peace out!  
  
Erin Lindsey  
  
P.S. READ PART FIVE!   
  
P.S.S. Send me your comments!  
  
P.S.S.S. Sorry about all the P.S's.  
  
P.S.S.S.S. What the heck does P.S. stand for any way??  
  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Legal information:  
Okay. ready, set go!!!  
Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, the Freedom   
fighters, the Chaotix, Dr. Robotnik, and any related   
characters are licensed characters of SEGA and Co.   
and/or DiC and Archie Adventure series Comics. Clawz the   
Wildcat was created by Erin Lindsey. If you want this   
story on your site, want to use any of my characters, or   
have any complications send them to:   
  
diamondneko@mail.com  
http://sheliacw.tripod.com  



	4. Triple Trouble

Friend or Foe? Part 5!  
or "Triple Trouble"  
  
By: Erin Lindsey  
  
rated PG(13?) this time for profanity, and  
there's also a bit of violence in this part, too.   
Somebody gets literally stabbed in the back! Owchies!   
------------------------------  
  
Authors Note: Skip this if you want, but I might just have to kill you ;)   
  
ACCCCCAKKKAKKAKAKK!!!  
Okay, sorry about that... Hee hee... I'm just excited 'cause this is the  
final installment in my first Sonic Fan-Fic series! Don't worry though, there  
will be more! I've already started writing two whole new stories!   
Okay enough with the 'coming soons...'  
  
On another note, I've been receiving e-mails from lots of readers, and  
first of all I would like to thank them. I love getting mail! Especially  
from my fans! Secondly, I have also gotten many offers to get my story  
put up on other people's site and I thank them too, but please contact me  
by e-mail if you want my stories on your site. When you do contact me,   
please give me your e-mail address and the address of the site you are   
going to put my stories up on. Thanks again!  
  
  
Lastish -  
1.)We learned that before Clawz met Knux again and fell off the island,   
Clawz and Nack were workin for Robotnik when Nack got captured by the   
Freedom Fighters, and Clawz went to hide out on the Floating Island.  
2.)Archimedes and Locke (Knux's dad) investigate why the Chaos Emerald is   
getting dimmer, and find some strange verses about "The Others...."  
3.)Clawz recovered from his fall and found out Nack was in the FF.'s jail.  
He helped break him out and Nack starts asking questions about the Chaos   
Emerald.  
4.)Everyone in Knothole finds stuff missing...  
5.)Knuckles gets attacked and when he wakes up the Chaos Emerald is gone!  
6.)The Floating Island Falls (D'oh!)  
  
All right enough of that! If you want to know more about the story,  
just read all the preceding parts! Duh!  
  
Now onto the real story. Took me long enough didn't it? ;P  
  
  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 9: "That Sinking Feeling"  
  
  
  
  
::KER-SPLASH!!::  
  
Knuckles felt his stomach heave as the island bobbed suddenly and   
stopped slowly, giving him an incredible sickly feeling. He looked up   
cautiously. He stared at the clouds blankly for a moment. He raised his   
hand to his face and touched his nose gingerly.  
  
"I'm still alive!" He said relieved. He tried to stand up but found  
Mighty locked around his legs. "ACKK!" He yelled pushing him off, "Get offa  
me you sicko!"  
  
Mighty held on tight for a moment and Knuckles had to pry him off. He   
fell on the ground, petrified, then stood up slowly, looking completely pale.   
"Wh-what... h-happened??" He asked shakily.  
  
"I don't know... The emerald is gone, but we didn't crash..." He said  
more confused than he was, but much more pulled-together.  
  
"What was that noise then?..." Mighty said trying to act as brave as  
Knuckles was.  
  
Knuckles turned to look at him. "What noise?" He asked.  
  
"You know... That 'ker-splash'!" He said.  
  
"Ker-splash?" Knuckles repeated.   
  
Mighty nodded. Then, without another word, Knuckles rushed out of the clearing.   
  
"Hey! Wait for me!" Mighty called, and ran after him. When he finally   
caught up with the echidna, he slumped over panting. "Wha-What's the matter  
Kn-knux?" He said still out of breath.  
  
Knuckles didn't answer just continued looking across the edge of the   
island. Mighty glanced up at the horizon and the ocean... Except this time,  
the water wasn't miles below them. The water was only inches below them. Tiny  
bubbles floated up ward from the depths as the salty waves splashed up onto   
their feet.  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
  
Tails turned suddenly. "Hey, guys... Did you hear that?" He asked.  
  
Sonic looked up, "Hear what?" He said absentmindedly.  
  
"I dunno... It sounded kinda like a splash or something.." He said.  
  
"Look, you guys, we don't have time for imaginary noises! We've got  
a serious problem on our hands!" Sally interrupted, "Knothole has been   
robbed! Not to mention we have a bounty hunter with a vengeance on the loose!"  
  
Tails frowned and sat down on the floor. "Nobody ever listens to me..."  
He grumbled to himself.  
  
"Now..." Sally said slowly running over the list of missing items,   
"Lets see... Several chemicals and robotic parts from Rotor's lab... A   
hover craft... A knife from the kitchen..."  
  
"The only way it makes sense is that he's going to Robotnik!" Sonic  
said. "He would give him the robot parts, use the hover craft to get there,  
and the knife... for... uh... protection."   
  
"Well I suppose." She said, "But it still doesn't explain how he got  
out of the jail. And why didn't he come and try to kill you again? That was  
his first mission, remember?"  
  
"Well.. uh... Maybe he didn't have time..." Sonic said.  
  
"What about the chemicals? What did he want with them?" Sally said,  
"What kind of chemicals were they anyway, Rotor?" She asked turning to him.  
  
"Ah... I'm not exactly sure... Ammonia and something else... Mmm..  
Chloroform... Very volatile. It could make you pass out if you breath the   
fumes." He said.  
  
"I wonder what he wanted them for...." She said. "I guess Robotnik  
could need them for something... It just doesn't make much sense!"   
  
"Wait uh minute! I think ah figured it out!" Bunnie said, standing up  
for a moment then her knee short circuited again and she almost fell. Antonie  
caught her and held her up. "He had to have sum help ta git that lock open,  
am ah right?" She asked, regaining her dignity.  
  
"Yeah. I re-designed that lock after he got out the first time.   
There's no way he could have opened it from inside his cell." Rotor said.   
  
"Then he's got uh accompliss." She said confidently.  
  
"An accomplice?" Sally said, "Are you inferring that one of us helped   
him escape?"  
  
"No, no, no. That's not what ah mean. At least not one off us whose  
here now..." Bunnie said.  
  
"What are you meaning, cherie?" Antonie asked, "Everyone ess here."  
  
She shook her head, "No... Not all uh us..." She said solemnly.  
  
Everyone stared at her for a moment, then glanced at each other.  
  
"Clawz." She said.  
  
Everyone was silent.  
  
"No! Clawz wouldn't do that!" Tails said standing up.  
  
Sally tried to calm him, "Now, Tails... He is missing...." She said.  
  
"So??" He said loudly, "That doesn't mean he did it!"  
  
"Look, it all makes perfect sense!" Bunnie said, "Nack and him must  
be workin' fo Robo together! Before Nack got caught by us, he musta told   
Clawz if he weren't around fer a little while ta come lookin' for him. When   
we captured Nack, Clawz just suddenly showed up from nowhere! It was a a plan  
to get his partner out!" She said, slamming her metal fist on the table,   
making a large dent. "Oops... Sorry." She said sheepishly, drawing her hand   
back.  
  
"He was hurt though! We found him all beat up in that tree, remember?"  
Tails defended.  
  
"Maybe he faked it." She said stubbornly.  
  
"But his arm and leg were broken!" Tails said, "I don't think he   
could fake that!"  
  
"Well... Maybe he got hurt by accident!" She says, "It still doesn't  
matter! All the other evidence points to him!"  
  
"It would explain why he kept insisting 'I didn't do it' or whatever,  
when he woke up the first time. He must be the accomplice!" Sonic said.   
  
"CALM DOWN EVERYONE!" Sally ordered.  
  
Everyone obeyed silently, sitting down again, a bit surprised at her   
sudden outburst.  
  
"Look, it doesn't matter now! What matters is that we have to find  
him! Nack could tell Robotnik the location of Knothole!" She said firmly. "We  
can't worry about who, or how, why right now! We have to find him before he  
gets to Robotopolis!"  
  
"She's right! We shouldn't be arguing at a time like this!" Sonic  
said, for once setting a good example.  
  
"Maybe I can use the tracer to find the hover craft's location!"   
Rotor said, "But I don't know if it's functioning or not..."  
  
"What have we got to lose?" Sally said, handing him her little   
computer, "You can use Nicole's radar."  
  
"Thanks Sally." He said, "We'll have to go outside to pick up the  
best readings."  
  
"What are we waiting for, then?" Sonic said, "C'mon lets go!"   
  
The all rushed out on his command and stood in the middle of the  
court yard. Rotor quickly booted up Nicole, and everyone gathered around to  
watch her screen.  
  
"Hello, Sal-- I mean er.. Rotor... Everyone...." Nicole droned in a   
rather confused voice as her main screen came up.  
  
"Sorry, Nicole. We got an emergency on our hands. Activate radar   
tracking device. Organic and robotic screenings." Rotor said.  
  
"Activating, big boy." She said, humming softly.   
  
Rotor blushed slightly. The large radar screen appeared in hologram   
form, spitting out of Nicole's holo-port in her back. Everyone backed away   
from the screen to examine the map. Several large blobs of red and green   
appeared.  
  
"Uh... Okay... What are those splotch thingies supposed to be?" Sonic  
said blankly.  
  
"Auto-labeling of known forms, Nicole." Sally said.  
  
Several words began popping up on the radar hologram, labeling some  
of the blobs with specific names.  
  
Sally pointed at them and read them aloud, "Here's Robotropolis...  
Here's the Great Forest... Here's Knothole.... And here's...." She gasped  
suddenly.  
  
"What? What's tha mattah Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked.  
  
"There's three unknown forms... Two are moving... The other is this   
big green form here..." She said pointing.  
  
"What is that?" Tails asked.  
  
"I don't know... It could be an island or something, but one of the   
moving forms.. Could be Nack!" She said hopefully.  
  
"Yeah... But which one?..." Sonic said.  
  
"Uhh..." Sally mumbled, "Well... That one is going towards   
Robotropolis... But it doesn't seem to be coming from here. And this one...  
Seems to be... Coming towards here!" She said, suddenly shocked.  
  
"What?!" Sonic said alarmed, "Coming here?"  
  
"Oh no! Nack's already told Robo are locatun! That mus be him comin  
ta git us!" Bunnie said hysterically.  
  
Antonie panicked, "Sacre Bleu! Heel 'botizise us all and we shall be  
working as slaves fornever!" He shouted.  
  
"That's 'forever', Ant. " Sonic corrected.  
  
"That's what I is saying, fornever!"  
  
Sonic sighed, then looked up. "Hey! Look!" He said pointing at the   
sky, where a red figure was approaching. Suddenly just as Sonic said that,  
the figure began to waver, then finally fell to the ground in a meadow on  
the outside of the forest.  
  
"What was that?!" Tails said.  
  
"I dunno but I'm gonna go find out." Sonic said, and zoomed off in a  
cloud of dust.  
  
"Hey! Wait for us!" Sally said. They all followed, although coughing  
through all Sonic's wake.  
  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
"Heh heh... Almost there!" Nack said relaxing back in the seat of his  
hover-craft.  
  
Actually, it wasn't his at all, considering that he stole it   
from the freedom fighters. He could already see the billowing clouds from   
Robotropolis' smokestacks on the distant horizon.   
  
"I bet Robotnik'll pay a handsome price fer this beauty." He said,   
patting the beautiful green gem in the seat beside him.   
  
He stared at it for a moment, "Hey... I coulda sworn this thing was   
bigger uh second ago..." He said examining it closely. "It almost looks   
darker too." He said touching the now cool, but smooth surface.  
  
He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I'm just seein' things."   
  
He dismissed the idea and relaxed again. "Those Freedom Fighters are   
really gonna get it when I tell Robo 'bout there 'lil secret base." He said   
happily to himself. "They're gonna pay fer lockin' me up..." He said but it   
was no longer as happy as before.   
  
He sighed almost sadly. "Too bad Clawz didn't want in on tha job. If   
I let him go... He woulda told 'em... I couldn't ta let that happen. He was a   
traitor... Not me." He said trying to reassure himself that he had done the   
right thing. But he still felt a cold feeling, another emptiness, maybe it   
was guilt. Guilt that he had killed his own brother.  
  
  
  
****  
  
  
Sonic was cautiously approaching the field where the unknown figure  
had landed. He scanned the grass carefully, but couldn't see anything. Sally  
and the others finally caught up with him.  
  
"Do you see anything, Sonic?" Tails said landing.  
  
"Not yet.. Stay back... It could be hidden." He said, holding them  
back with one hand.  
  
"Nicole, re-activate hologram radar." Sally said.  
  
"Yes, Sally. Re-activating." The computer droned. The hologram   
appeared once again, showing the mystery form.  
  
"What are this form's direction coordinates, Nicole?" Sally asked,  
highlighting the small red blob in the meadow with the keyboard.  
  
"35 degrees north, northeast." Nicole answered.  
  
"It's over there then." Sally said, pointing the direction out to   
the others.  
  
"Okay. I'll go check it out." Sonic said, and began creeping towards  
the center of the field.   
  
Sally stopped him, "I'm coming, too." She insisted.  
  
"No, Sal... I don't want ya to get hurt if--" He started.  
  
"I'll be fine." She said, pushing by him, "I'm not helpless you know."  
  
He sighed, "All right... But stay behind me." He said, stepping in   
front of her.  
  
She looked rather angry, but didn't object. She followed him closer  
to the center, brushing aside the long grasses as they went.   
  
"Where is it?" Sonic asked confused.  
  
"We should be right on top of it now." Sally said.  
  
Suddenly Sonic tripped over something. "What the heck?!" He yelled,  
falling to the ground.  
  
"Hey! Why don't ya watch were your going?!" Knuckles said, angrily  
although weakly, as he stood up.  
  
"Knuckles?" Sally asked surprised.  
  
"Sally!" He said, "Oh am I glad to see you!" He stepped toward her  
but practically fell as he did.  
  
She caught him, "Knux are you all right?" She asked.  
  
"No... Everything's wrong..." He said, "You have to help me..."  
  
Sonic stood back up and turned to them, "What are YOU doing here?!"  
He snarled defensively, seeing Sally holding him.  
  
"Leave him alone, Sonic... He's in trouble." She said.  
  
"Hmmph!" He said, "Why should we help him?"  
  
Knuckles turned to him, "Please... You've got to.. They'll all die if  
you don't! Please..." He pleaded, falling to his knees.  
  
Sonic was obviously very surprised. He stood there stiffly for a   
moment. Knuckles looked up at him, eyes full of fear. It was something Sonic  
had never thought or expected from the big echidna. He had come to him for   
help.  
  
Sally bent down to Knuckles' side, "We'll help you." She said softly,  
"Get up, we have to get you back to Knothole. You don't look so good..."  
  
"No!" He said, standing up again suddenly, "There's no time! We have  
to do something, and fast, before everyone on the Floating Island drowns!"  
  
"Drowns?" She asked, confused.  
  
"Yes!" He said sharply, "The Chaos Emerald was stolen, the island  
fell into the ocean.... It's sinking..." He said.  
  
Bunnie, Rotor and the others were approaching them now, seeing there  
was no danger.  
  
"Oh my god!" Sally said. "The ocean must be miles from here! You flew  
all that way?" She asked.  
  
"I had to... I had to find help!" Knuckles said. "And believe me...   
It wasn't easy!" He said, again feeling faint.   
  
Sonic steadied him this time. "What can we do to help?" He asked.  
  
Knuckles looked at him, "I... I don't know..." He mumbled, "Maybe  
I should have stayed... Stayed and died with them..."  
  
"No, Knuckles." She said, "You came looking for help, and were going   
to give it to you. Maybe we could go to the island and take the people back  
to the main land..."  
  
"No... There's no time... There's too many people... The only way to  
save them would be to get the Chaos Emerald back, and I don't even know who  
stole it!" He said, defeated.  
  
"Maybe it was Nack!" Rotor said suddenly. "He would do something like  
that!" He said.  
  
"Nack? Who are you talking about? Who's Nack?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"He was a bounty hunter who tried to kill Sonic for Robotnik a while  
back. We had caught him and put him in jail, but he escaped last night."   
Sally explained. "We think he had an accomplice named Clawz Wildcat."  
  
Knuckles stared at her wide-eyed for a moment, "Clawz? B-but... He's  
dead..." He stammered.  
  
"Dead?!" Tails yelled.  
  
"Do you know him Knuckles?" Sally asked.  
  
"Well I did... He died... About a month ago." He said solemnly.  
  
Sally and Sonic glanced at each other.  
  
"What are you talking about? He was here just a day ago." He said.  
  
Knuckles looked very confused, "Huh? But... He died! He fell of the   
Floating Island!" He said.  
  
"Fell off the island?" Sally said, "That would explain why we found  
him in the tree... Because he fell from above..."  
  
"You mean he didn't die?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"No. He fell into the Great Forest. Sonic and Tails found him   
practically mangled in a tree." She said.  
  
Knuckles was aghast for a moment. "That would explain it... He knew  
where the Chaos Emerald was... He and Nack must have stolen it... He did it  
again..." He said softly. "How could he have done something like that? I  
should have never trusted him. Now my father's legacy is going to be 2,000  
leagues under the sea!"   
  
Sally put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Knuckles. I think I  
know what to do now." She said. "We know where they are."  
  
Knuckles stood up straight, "Y-you do?" He said hopefully.  
  
"Yes. See." She said showing him the other moving form on the radar.  
  
"He's going to Robotropolis!" Knuckles exclaimed, "We gotta stop them!"  
  
"I bet I can catch up with them." Sonic said confidently.  
  
"I'm coming with you!" Knuckles said.  
  
"You're still weak though..." Sally said.  
  
"I'm fine. It's my responsibility, not yours anyway." He insisted.  
  
"You guys could use the bi-plane!" Tails said, "I could fly it!"  
  
"Hmm... I don't think so, Tails. This might get dangerous." Sonic said.  
  
"I don't care! I can do it!" He said firmly, "I want to prove to you  
guys that I'm not just a little kid anymore!"  
  
"Let him come. We might need some backup." Knuckles said.  
  
"I don't know..." Sally said.  
  
"Please Aunt Sally!" Tails pleaded, "I could help! We could get there  
faster using the plane, and I'm the best at flying it!"   
  
"All right... Just be careful" She said, but the three had already  
ran off to get the plane. She sighed. "Good luck you guys." She said to the   
wind.  
  
  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
Archimedes sat up slowly. He looked around the library wearily. All  
the books had fallen off their shelves and onto the ground in huge piles. All  
he could remember is that Knuckles' father and him had been searching for   
the Lost Scrolls when suddenly a huge earthquake hit the island. He panicked  
suddenly.  
  
"Locke? Locke?!" He called hysterically, "Where are you!?"  
  
"MMpha! Hummff! Haarrgh!" Came a muffled reply from underneath one  
of the piles of books. Archimedes began digging frantically until he   
unearthed his echidna master.  
  
"ACK!" Locke coughed, gasping for air, "I thought I was going to   
suffocate!" He said, pushing books off of his body. "Not to mention I got a  
weird case of déjà vu."  
  
"What happened?" Archimedes asked.  
  
"An earthquake." He said.  
  
"Well, I know that." He said stiffly, "But why?"   
  
"Something must have happened to the Chaos Emerald." He said, alarmed.  
  
"We better go check it out!" Archimedes said, and he climbed on top  
of his head, and before Locke could object, they both disappeared in a puff  
of smoke and then reappeared in the Chaos Chamber.  
  
"Archimdedes! I'm not supposed to be here! What if Knuckles saw me,  
he is not ready yet... To know the truth about me..." Locke protested.  
  
The ant wasn't really listening to him though, "It's disintegrated!"  
He yelled, pointing at the emerald's pedestal, which was now empty.  
  
Locke stared at it for a moment. "What? This can not be... Where is  
it?" He asked softly, still in disbelief.  
  
"I've told you, it's disintegrated and we're all going to die!" He  
yelled frantically.  
  
"Archimedes, if we were going to die don't you think we already would  
have?" Locke asked. "I mean, if the emerald is gone, we should have fallen,  
and crashed or exploded or something."  
  
"Maybe we already fell and we're really dead right now!" Archimedes  
said, "I bet we could go back to Haven and find our dead bodies!" He yelped.  
  
"Pull yourself together, man!" Locke said grabbing and shaking him.  
"We're not dead! That's completely illogical."  
  
"It's just what the scrolls said, the emerald will decide our fate!"  
He said, still not listening.   
  
"Don't be stupid. We must continue to look for the lost scrolls to   
see what they say about what to do! If we find them they could help us!"   
Locke insisted.  
  
Archimedes calmed down slightly. "Y-you're right... We must stay calm  
and keep our wits about us..." He said.   
  
"Lets go back to the study and continue our search."  
  
Archimedes obeyed and they were transported in a puff of smoke back  
to the room full of books.  
  
"What in the--" Locke started as he realized in their absence the  
small room had begun to fill with water.   
  
"Oh my!" Archimedes said, "A pipe must have broken during the earth  
-quake."  
  
"But... We don't have any pipes. All our water comes from the stream."  
Locke said slowly, picking up one of his feet from the almost knee-high water.  
  
Archimedes stared at him blankly for a moment. "Then how... did all   
this water.... get in here?" He asked.  
  
"How should I know?" Was all Locke could answer.  
  
  
  
  
*****   
  
  
Chapter 10: "Blame Chaos"  
  
  
  
  
The bi-plane took off with a loud rushing of the engines. Knuckles  
was almost thrown off the top set of wings and had to bend down to hold on.  
  
"Geez, careful, kid! How about trying a smooth take-off next time!"  
He said, having to raise his voice over the sound of the engines.   
  
"Sorry!" Tails said. "I was trying to make it quick. We have to catch  
up with Sonic, then with Nack and Clawz."  
  
"Well, lets go. You're right, we have to hurry." Knuckles yelled, as  
they began to gain altitude. He looked down into the desert between the Great  
Forest and Robotropolis. He put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the  
sun. He saw a small blue blur racing along underneath them a little ways   
ahead. "There's Sonic!" He announced, pointing to him.  
  
"Yeah! See I told you using the bi-plane would be faster!" Tails said  
happily. "We'll catch up with that hover craft in no time flat!"  
  
"I hope so! Hundreds of lives on the Floating Island are counting on  
us, not to mention all of the animals in Knothole if Nack tells Robo the  
location!" Knuckles said.  
  
"And if Robotnik found a way to use the Chaos Emerald's energy..."  
Tails began.  
  
"I don't even want to think about that. We've got enough riding on  
our shoulders as it is." He said, shaking his head.  
  
"Okay, were going down closer to the ground now, the air's getting  
too thin up here. Hold on." Tails warned.  
  
"All right. Y'know, your not so bad a guy for only being a kid." He  
said, bending down on one knee to hold the wing.  
  
"Thanks, Knuckles. I not that young y'know." He said, beginning the  
decent down closer to where Sonic was running.  
  
"Yeah, I know. You don't want to be treated like a kid anymore."   
Knuckles said. "You must be, what... 10 years old?"  
  
"Yeah... Well I will be in a couple of months..." Tails said.  
  
"Oh, yes of course." Knuckles said smiling.  
  
The plane pulled down beside Sonic, although still flying about a  
meter off the ground. "How's it going guys?" Sonic yelled to them, "We should  
be getting close to Robotropolis now!"  
  
Knuckles looked up, "Hey! I think I see Nack's hover-craft! This is  
gonna be easier than I thought!" He said.  
  
"Tails, keep the plane flying, we might have to make a quick exit.  
Knuckles, do you think you can jump down from up there and make a surprise  
attack?" Sonic asked.  
  
"Sure thing, Sonic." He said giving him a salute. "I'll stop 'em in  
his tracks, then you can back me up, right?"   
  
"That's the plan! C'mon, were gaining now..." He said and sped even  
faster up behind the small vehicle, hovering inches of the ground. Tails took  
the plane higher, then directly above it.  
  
Nack sat up straight in his seat. "What's that noise?" He asked   
himself. He looked out the window in back, but all he could see was a cloud  
of dust. Suddenly the monitor on the control panel sprung to life.  
  
"Identify yourself, being." Droned a SWATbot. "You are in Master  
Robotnik's territory now. Identify yourself or be terminated."  
  
"Whoa, whoa! Cool yer jets, helmet head! I'm Nack Weasel, tha bounty  
hunter. I come ta negotiate wit yer 'Master Robotnik'". He said grimacing.  
  
"What have you come to negotiate about Nack Weasel? Master Robotnik  
is very busy and has no time for unimportant--"  
  
"I got sumtin' very important. I'll tell him the location uh Knothole,  
and if tha price is right, I might just hand over dis here purty jewel." He  
said holding up the Chaos Emerald.  
  
The robot was silent for a moment "Yes, Nack Weasel, Master wishes to  
see you. We shall be sending out and escort. He is very interested in the  
item and information you possess." It droned after getting a report.  
  
"Good! Don't spare any expense." He said reclining in his seat again.  
  
"Yes sir." The robot said, then disappeared from the screen.  
  
Nack smiled, but it was short lived, considering a sudden loud noise  
on the roof of his craft. He sat up again. He glanced out all the windows   
cautiously. "Now I know I heard sometin' that time!" He tried to look through  
the front windshield up at the roof, and was greeted by a sudden swing of a  
large fist, cracking the glass.   
  
"Surprise!" Knuckles growled.  
  
"What the hell?!" Nack yelled backing away.  
  
Knuckles began pounding on the window, making larger and larger   
cracks in the pane as he did. Nack yelped and jumped in the back seat and  
tried to hide. A suddenly sound of a buzz saw made him jump back into the   
front. A plane had pulled up in front of him, and he couldn't see where he  
was going, not to mention that Knuckles was about to shatter his windshield  
to bits. He looked into the back again, where now he could see the blue saw  
searing though the metal. He grabbed the Chaos Emerald frantically and threw  
it into a sack, then quickly opened a side window and jumped out, holding the  
bag for dear life. He rolled a couple times then, bruised and beaten, began  
running towards the city in the distance.   
  
He was no race for Sonic though, who caught up with him in a split   
second. "Now where do you think you're going?" He said, stopping directly in  
front of him.  
  
Nack screeched to a stop and turned to run the other way, but was  
stopped by the approaching echidna, "I don't think so." Knuckles said smiling.  
  
Nack was trapped. He looked back and forth from both of them,   
clutching the bag tightly. He couldn't let them have it back! It was his  
fortune, his nest egg, his jack-pot...  
  
"Hand it over, bounty hunter, and maybe we won't kill you... At least   
not for a little while." Knuckles said, pounding one of his fists into his  
other palm.  
  
"Yeah... You really didn't think you could get away with it without  
us dogging ya, did you?" Sonic said, cracking his knuckles.  
  
"Well.. I.. er.." Nack stammered, clearly shaking in his boots.  
  
"That's what I thought." Knuckles growled, then lunged at him fiercely.  
  
Nack tied to dodge but, Knuckles caught him by the arm and punched  
him squarely in the jaw. The weasel reeled back by the force of the blow.   
Sonic tripped him and he fell to the ground spilling the contents of the bag   
onto the ground. The Chaos Emerald lay in the middle of the pile of robotic   
parts Mobian gold and silver royals, small quartz crystals, and other   
miscellaneous stolen items. The emerald seemed to have regained it's normal   
glow, and glittered brightly in the sunlight. Knuckles smiled and reached   
for it anxiously, but stopped suddenly. He stared at it with a confused gaze   
on his face.  
  
"What's the matter with you?" Sonic snapped at the echidna, grabbing   
Nack and holding him down on the ground. "Grab the emerald you idiot!"  
  
Knuckles felt an odd force compelling him, he could barely hear   
Sonic's words, but he did not listen. He felt the warm glow, soft pulsing   
energy, so similar to what the Chaos Emerald felt like, yet so incredibly  
different. He felt it was so weak, but even in it's weakness, it far   
surpassed the power of the emerald. It was calling him...  
  
"Knuckles! Knuckles?! Do you hear me you stupid echidna?!" Sonic   
yelled desperately, as Nack began to struggle, "Grab the emerald and let's   
get outta--"  
  
Sonic was thrown back as a powerful laser shot the ground right in  
front of them. Knuckles snapped out of his trance as he hit the ground.  
  
"What in the --??!"  
  
"Surrender organic beings or prepare to be terminated." A black   
plane droned over a loud-speaker.   
  
Sonic sat up glaring at the robotic air-craft. It was definitely one  
of Robotnik's. "No way ya scrap metal! We ain't surrendering nothing!" He   
yelled back confidently.  
  
"Priority one, destroy!" The bot droned, and a large missile launched  
out of it's bay and zoomed at the bi-plane.  
  
Tails yelped frantically then abandoned ship a split second before   
the missile collided with the left wing, splintering it like a twig. Tails   
barely was out in the open when some of the falling debris hit him and sent   
him barreling towards the ground. Sonic didn't waste any time but sped to the   
crash site and caught him inches off the ground. Knuckles stood there trying  
to decide to grab the emerald, go help Sonic, or find the strange force that  
had held him earlier. Nack stood up suddenly and quickly snatched the emerald.  
Knuckles tried to run after him, but he was bombarded by a rain of laser   
beams from the ship and had to dodge them. Nack reached the ship and climbed  
up a small ladder that had unrolled from it's cockpit.  
  
"Ha ha ha! See ya suckers!" He laughed as the air-craft turned and   
jetted away to Robotropolis.  
  
Knuckles stood there, watching helplessly as it disappeared over the   
horizon. He slumped down on the ground. Sonic approached him with Tails in  
his arms from the back.  
  
"Now look what you've done!" The hedgehog growled. "You let him get  
away! What's the matter with you?!"  
  
Knuckles mumbled something under his breath.  
  
Sonic put Tails, who was unconscious but not hurt terribly, on the  
ground. "What was that? I couldn't quite hear you." He retorted angrily.  
  
"I said leave me alone, you bastard." He grumbled turning back to   
face him, shaking a fist.  
  
"Oh, is that how it is now?!" Sonic yelled back. "I don't see why I  
even ever wanted to help you anyway! Your stupid island can sink to the   
bottom of the ocean for all I care!"  
  
Knuckles couldn't take it anymore. He leapt at the hedgehog, missing  
him by a hair as Sonic darted away quickly. Knuckles snarled and leapt at him   
again, this time taking him by surprise. Sonic fell forward onto his stomach.  
He rolled over, but only to be pinned by the angry echidna. Sonic struggled  
to get free, but the more he twisted the harder Knuckles jabbed his knee into  
his stomach. The echidna was much stronger than he anticipated. Sonic   
glared at him, and he stared back with glazed over eyes filled with rage. He  
The echidna put a fist up to the hedgehog's throat. Sonic could feel the   
sharp barbs against his neck. He felt a pang of real fear.   
  
Suddenly, Knuckles' gaze broke his. He looked up and then let go of  
Sonic, falling to the ground with his hands over his head. He whimpered softly.  
  
Sonic sat up staring at the echidna on the ground.  
  
"I can't do it." Knuckles said softly, still shaky.  
  
"What?" Sonic asked, "What's the matter? Are you afraid?" He said, his  
bravado and confidence returning.   
  
"No." The echidna replied. "I cannot because _It_ tells me not to."  
  
Sonic was very confused at this point. "What ARE you rambling about?"   
He demanded.  
  
"I don't know." Knuckles said, still with his hands over his head,  
"The force won't let me kill you. I... I've always hated you, b-but.. You  
do not deserve to die.. No one does."  
  
"WHAT force?" Sonic yelled, "Who are you, Luke Skywalker?!"  
  
Knuckles stood up and grabbed him around the throat. "I DON'T KNOW!" He  
snarled with frustration.   
  
"Ack.. Okay, geez... Calm down..." Sonic said, "Just put me down all  
right??"  
  
Knuckles hesitated then set him down. "The only reason I came here  
for help was because of Sally you know." He said, turning away.  
  
"The only reason I agreed to help you is because your her friend."   
Sonic said.  
  
"I suppose we have something in common..." Knuckles mumbled.  
  
"Ohhh... Wha-what h-happened?" Tails asked wearily, sitting up and  
rubbing his head.  
  
Sonic rushed past Knuckles to his friend's side. "Tails, aw am I glad   
you're all right!" He said.  
  
Tails looked around them. "What happened to Nack... And the plane...  
And the emerald?" He asked confused.  
  
"They got away." Sonic said, not going into detail about how Knuckles  
had messed everything up. He didn't want to get on that guy's bad side again.  
  
"They're heading towards Robotropolis now." Knuckles said gravely.   
"I'll never catch them."  
  
"Hey! The Freedom Fighters never say never!" Sonic yelled. "We'll  
catch them, no matter what it takes."  
  
Knuckles turned to him. There was a slight hint of a smile on his face.  
"Yes... Yes WE will." He said.  
  
  
  
******  
  
  
  
"Ugggh... Sir, I don't think we can save any more of the books..."  
Archimedes groaned unhappily as he and Locke hauled them to higher ground.  
  
"I don't know how this could have happened..." Locke said, practically  
to himself, as he looked out over the partially submerged island. The west end  
was almost completely covered by the ocean, but the east side was tilted upward  
slightly as the island continued to sink. It would not be long before the  
land shifted totally vertical, and the underground caves filled. Locke sighed  
sadly.  
  
"Sir... Don't be down... We'll get through it..." Archimedes timidly  
tried to reassure.  
  
"I don't think so Archimedes. Not this time." He said soberly, "...I  
should have foreseen this..."  
  
"Don't blame yourself, Locke. It's not your fa--"  
  
"Maybe it is... My fault." He interrupted. "Maybe I... I didn't train   
Knuckles well enough. Maybe I have failed my father... And all the guardians   
before him... Now we shall fall to the verdict of Chaos. Like the scrolls say."  
  
"B-but Locke, we've done all we can... You have taught Knuckles well.  
He is a good guardian. I know. Maybe this is the end, but do not blame   
yourself. If anyone is to blame... Blame Chaos."  
  
Locke was silent. He continued to look over the sinking island. Suddenly  
he twisted around to glare at Archimedes. "What did you say?" He demanded.  
  
Archimedes was rather shaken, "Wh-what?"  
  
"What did you say? The last thing you said..." He said.  
  
"Oh.. I er.. I said um..." He stuttered, "I said if any one's to blame,  
blame Chaos."   
  
"...Blame Chaos..." Locke repeated. He got a rather mystified expression  
of realization on his face.  
  
"What? What's the matter?" The ant asked.  
  
"Don't you remember?.. No, you wouldn't... But I remember, a children's  
story... About a evil force that took over a village... The spirit was named  
Kayoss... Or was it Chaos? The village leader had to find... The other spirits  
to defeat the evil one... But some of the spirits she found were evil and they  
only contributed to the chaos... But it was the only way to attain balance..  
To find the good and the bad..."  
  
"Locke, no offense or anything, but what in the God's name are you  
rambling on about??" Archimedes insisted.  
  
"...The story... It was called 'Blame Chaos'... My father began to   
read it to me when I was just a boy... But when he died... And I had to take  
over... I never finished it..."  
  
"And... What does this have to do with the present situation?"   
Archimedes asked blankly.  
  
Locke wasn't listening to him. He was digging through the pile of  
books they had saved from the flood. "I have to find that book!"  
  
  
  
*****  
  
  
Chapter 11: "There Goes the Neighborhood"  
  
  
  
  
A dark blood-stained hand crept over the seat, dragging the heavy   
figure out from underneath it. Slowly, he made his way to the cockpit,   
stiffly sitting up in the seat trying not to drive the knife farther into  
his back. He leaned forward, collapsing over the steering wheel. He shivered  
with pain. The memories flooded back to him....  
  
"Nack... What are we doing on the Floating Island?" He had asked.  
  
"Getting the Chaos Emerald, what did ya think?" The weasel said simply.  
  
"WHAT?!" He yelled, "Y-you can't do that! It... It'll fall!"  
  
"Your so stupid!" He said tuning back to roll his eyes at him. "They   
just say that so people like us won't steal it!"  
  
"No! It's true..." He demanded, "I... We can't! I... I won't..."  
  
"Whattya mean ya won't?!" He growled.  
  
"I mean... I won't. I can't... You can't. I won't let you!" He said.  
  
"Don't be a fool!" He said, "We could be rich! Think uh it, a big jewel   
like that! We could sell it for a million royals! We'd be kings!"  
  
"No, not this time. It's wrong... And I won't let you do it! I'll tell  
everyone... Please, Nack... Brother..." He had pleaded.  
  
"They've brain washed you, them Freedom Fighters!" He said, "You   
ain't no brother uh mine! I'm gonna do it no matter what you say..."  
  
"No!" He yelled, catching him by the arm.  
  
"Fine!" He snarled menacingly, "If you're not wit me... You're not   
anything. You'll regret betraying me..." He pulled the knife out of his belt.  
  
"... Nack... No..." He said backing away.   
  
He turned to run away, but it had caught him in the back. He could   
feel the blade biting through his flesh and fur, digging into the muscle   
fiercely. He fell to the ground, unable to move, seeing his own blood form   
a puddle beside him. He groaned lifelessly, then closed his eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry brother." Said a voice softly, and he could hear the   
footsteps slowly fading away...  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
"Sir... The bounty hunter has arrived." Snivley announced.  
  
"Good! It took him long enough!" Robotnik snorted, spinning around in   
his large metallic chair. "Bring him in!" He ordered.  
  
"Yes sir." Snively said, bowing out of the room.  
  
Seconds later he re-entered with several swat-bots, one of which was  
carrying Nack. They stopped at Robotnik's command and tossed the weasel out  
onto the floor.  
  
"Ow! I love the service in dis joint!" He said sarcastically, standing  
up and rubbing his backside.  
  
"Yes, yes. Now where is it?" Robotnik demanded.  
  
"What?" Nack said looking confused.  
  
"What do you mean what?!" Robotnik yelled, "The emerald you fool!"  
  
"Oh!" Nack said smiling as he drew the green crystal from behind his   
back. "You mean this?" He asked.  
  
Robotnik's eyes grew wide. "YES! Give it to me! I must have it!" He  
said leaning forward.  
  
Nack pulled it back, "Un uh!" He said shaking his index finger at him,  
"Not until you pay tha price, Fat Boy! Now where's da cash?"  
  
"First give me the emerald..." Robotnik began. "And you'll get what's  
coming to you. I assure you."  
  
He hesitated, then handed it over slowly.  
  
Robotnik snatched greedily. He smiled, watching the green jewel glow   
strongly, pulsating rapidly as it gained strength. "Finally! The ultimate   
power source... It's incredible..."  
  
"Yeah, yeah... " Nack growled, his hand still outstretched. "Now  
where's my money?"  
  
Robotnik smiled an evil smile. "Take him away." He hissed happily to the  
SWATbot guards.  
  
"Wh-what??" Nack yelped as the robots took him by the arms.  
  
"Stupid weasel! No one should ever trust me!" Robotnik laughed   
happily, gently stroking the now brightly glowing emerald. "Take him to the  
Roboticizer. I have no use for him any longer!"  
  
"Wait! Wait!" Nack pleaded helplessly, "What 'bout tha location uh  
tha Freedom Fighter's base?!"  
  
"No need! Now that I have the emerald I can just destroy the entire  
Great Forest!" He chuckled.  
  
"Not if we can help it!" Said a voice, echoing through the large   
metallic room.   
  
"Wha...? Who said that!?" Robotnik said jerking his gaze around.  
  
"I did." Sonic said, stepping out from behind a SWATbot. He  
yawned then leaned against the bot casually.  
  
"The hedgehog?!" Robotnik snarled, "Don't just stand there! Get him   
you idiots!"  
  
The robots obeyed their master and began a cannonade of laser beams  
in Sonic's direction. Easily dodging, Sonic jumped into the air and the  
lasers hit the SWATbot he had been leaning on. Knuckles and Tails sprang out  
from behind two other bots.   
  
"Hiya Robotnik, long time no smell." Knuckles taunted.  
  
"Oh no! Not you too!" Robotnik yelped.  
  
"Yeah! Your going down this time Robo-Butt!" Tails backed.  
  
"Attack, attack!" Robotnik ordered frantically. "Reinforcements!"  
  
Sonic went into a buzz saw spin and sliced through the robots as they  
began to pour in the doors. Knuckles plowed down a couple and Tails began  
chunking parts from the already destroyed bots about the room. Robotnik  
tried to run for it, but before he could Sonic came at him with full force.  
Robotnik shielded himself from the razor-like quills with his arms. That   
didn't stop Sonic though. He sawed right through.  
  
"AHHHCCKK!" Robotnik screamed as his robotic hand fell to the floor.  
Blood and oil leaked from the remaining wires sticking out of his wrist.   
  
"Ewww! Gross!" Tails gagged putting a hand over his mouth.  
  
Even Sonic and Knuckles stepped back and stared at the monstrosity of   
the half robot half human hand still twitching on the ground.   
  
The chaos emerald lay unnoticed on the floor, except by Nack who  
had escaped from the SWATBot's clutches. He took this chance to slide out   
onto the floor and snatch it.   
  
"Hey! He's got the emerald again!" Tails yelled pointing to the  
retreating weasel.  
  
Knuckles tackled him easily and the emerald flew out of Nack's hands  
and across the room. Snivley bent down as it slid to his feet. He picked it  
up at stood smiling coldly at them all.  
  
"Oh, Snivley! Thank goodness! Now hurry and set off the traps!"   
Robotnik said relieved.  
  
Before the three heroes could move, Snivley pushed a metal button on  
the side of the door way and large glass like tubes fell over them all,   
including Nack and Robotnik.  
  
"Hey! What gives?!" Robotnik yelled, "Snivley you idiot, release me!"  
  
He walked slowly among them, observing them like animals in a zoo.  
He was still smiling coldly, tossing the chaos emerald into the air and then  
catching again. He stopped and eyed Robotnik viciously. "I don't think so,  
Master." He sneered happily. "Now that I have the emerald, I'll be ruler of  
the entire planet!"  
  
"Traitor!" Robotnik sneered, "When I get my hands on you--"  
  
"Let us out you banana-nosed freak, or I'll.. I'll..." Sonic growled.  
  
"You'll what?" Snivley asked snidely. "Sick your little dog on me?!"  
  
Sonic went bezerk. He tried to saw through the glass but all it did  
was made him bounce off and onto the opposite wall then back and forth in a  
insane frenzy until me collapsed panting on the ground.  
  
Snivley laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. "Stupid  
hedgehog! You cannot buzz your way though this! It's the strongest material  
in the world!" He yelled, tapping on the glass.  
  
Knuckles took a punch at the wall. "Owww!" He winced, cradling his  
fist after it ricocheted off harmlessly.  
  
"Curly here's right!" Nack said examining the glass, "It's   
diamanzium, twenty times stronger than titanium!"  
  
"Oh no!" Tails sobbed, "We'll never get outta here!"  
  
Sonic leaned against the wall helplessly. Knuckles did the same and  
slid down to the floor. He hated feeling weak.  
  
Snivley continued laughing evilly. "Oh, and that's not all!" He  
cackled, "I personally installed miniature roboticizers in all of these!"  
  
"What?!" Nack choked.  
  
"Come now nephew," Robotnik tried to persuade, "You wouldn't turn  
your own uncle into a robot, would you??"  
  
Snivley just smiled as he walked back to the control panel. He flipped  
open a case protecting a large red button. "See you later Uncle Ivo." He  
said softly as his finger pressed down the button. Tails covered his eyes,  
but instead of the roboticizers going off, the lights went off.   
  
"Hey, who turned out the lights?!" Sonic yelled into the darkness.  
  
"Oh no! Someone's cut off the electricity!" Snivley said, frantically  
searching the control panel for the back-up generator switch.  
  
"Snivley, you dolt! You must have wired the buttons wrong!" Robotnik  
yelled at him.  
  
"No, no! I'm sure I wired it right! ...At least I'm pretty sure I wired   
it right..." Snivley mumbled.  
  
"Ha! Whatta stupid idiot! Can't even kill us when he's got trapped!"   
Nack laughed despite their predicament.  
  
"Yeah, you should know... Brother."  
  
There was a silence and no one moved. In the darkness, you see two   
menacing green eyes, they flashed brilliantly, almost like the Chaos   
Emerald, which was still in Snivley's hands.   
  
"C-c-Clawz??" Nack stammered.  
  
"Clawz!" Tails exclaimed happily.  
  
"Clawz?" Knuckles said confused.  
  
"Who?" Snivley asked.  
  
"Shut-up Snivley!" Robotnik snapped.  
  
"B-but I... I thought you were... were d-de-de--" Nack began.  
  
"Dead?" Clawz finished for him.   
  
"This seems to be a common problem around here." Knuckles commented.  
  
"B-but how...?" Nack asked, backing up in his tube as far away as he  
could get.  
  
"I'm a feline remember? I have nine lives. Down t' three now." Clawz  
said in the same dark, unchanging growl.  
  
"Clawz, you gotta help us or we'll all be Robotocized!" Tails yelped.  
  
"Don't worry Duce, I cut da wires t' the main generator t' this room.  
There won't be any roboticizing..." He reassured, then turned to Snivley,  
"But there might be some butt-kicking."  
  
"Eeep!" Snivley winced backing away, then tripped over something and  
fell into a bunch of boxes.  
  
Clawz slowly bent down and picked up the Chaos Emerald off the ground.  
Then he went to the control panel and pushed a few buttons. The main light  
came on and the three tubes containing Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails slid back  
up into the ceiling, freeing them. Then, unexpectedly Clawz pushed one more  
and the diamanzium chamber lifted off of Nack. He stumbled backwards in  
surprise. Clawz approaching him slowly. Now, in the dim light you could  
see Clawz was injured, with blood running down his shoulder. He was slumped  
over slightly, so you could barely see the hilt of a knife sticking out below  
his shoulder blade. He stopped short and shivered as if a tremor had just  
hit and then with a soft moan of pain sunk to the floor.  
  
"Oh my God!" Knuckles yelled running up to him.   
  
Sonic and Tails helped pick the big wildcat up. Knuckles grabbed the   
knife handle and with a hard tug, pulled it out. Clawz whimpered loudly and   
almost fell again. Tails thought he was going to fall over himself.  
  
"Where do you two are think your going?" Sonic said as Nack and Snivley  
tried to escape. In a blink on an eye, Sonic had grabbed Snivley and stuffed  
him into the tube with Robotnik. He was about to do the same to Nack, when  
Clawz stopped him.  
  
"No, let him go." He managed to say.  
  
"WHAT?!" Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Nack said in unison.  
  
"He deserves another chance." He said softly, yet firmly.  
  
"B-but Clawz... I tried to kill you..." Nack stuttered in surprise.  
  
"I wouldn't stab my own brother in the back." Clawz said, a hint of  
his sarcastic, ever-present smile back on his lips.  
  
Nack stood up silently, staring at him. He started to walk away. Then  
turned around as he came to the window. "I... I'm... I'm sor--"  
  
"I know. You don't have to say it." Clawz interrupted.  
  
Nack smiled soberly. "Thank you... Brother." He said, then disappeared  
out the window.  
  
The moment he left Clawz slumped back to the ground. He couldn't even  
move any longer. He had used all his energy just standing and talking.  
  
"He's hurt badly..." Knuckles said. "If he loses any more blood..."  
  
"Then we have to get him back to Knothole, pronto!" Sonic said.  
  
"But what are we gonna do about them?" Tails said, pointing to Robotnik  
and Snivley both crammed together in the small chamber.  
  
"Don't we deserve another chance, too?" Snivley asked sweetly.  
  
"I don't think so." Sonic said and pushed the big red button.   
  
"EEeeeeekkkKKK!" Snivley screamed like a little girl.  
  
"Shut-up you fool! Nothing happened!" Robotnik yelled, slapping him,   
"That light is working on the extra-generator, but it's not hooked to the   
roboticizers!"  
  
"I knew that." Snivley said.  
  
"C'mon guys. Let's get outta this dump." Sonic said helping Tails pick  
up the wounded wildcat. Knuckles was carrying Nack's bag with the Chaos   
Emerald in it.  
  
"Wait! What about us?!" Robotnik yelled.  
  
"Sorry, I got an island to save!" Knuckles said and slammed the door  
behind them as they went out.  
  
"This is all your fault, do you know that?" Robotnik growled.  
  
"My fault?!" Snivley retorted, "Your the one who came up with these  
stupid diamanzium tube traps anyway!"  
  
"Shut-up you moron!"  
  
  
  
*****   
  
  
  
Chapter 12: "The End is Near"  
  
  
  
"Ack! The water's getting higher!" Charmy yelped.  
  
"We're all gonna die!!" Mighty winced.  
  
"I love you, man!" Vector said to Espio. "But not like, gay or anything."  
  
"Yeah, I know!" Espio said.  
  
"This is it!" Mighty said as the land began to tip vertical, "My life's   
flashing before my eyes!"  
  
"So is mine!" Vector yelled, "Wow, I didn't do much, did I?"  
  
"Good-bye cruel world!" Espio sobbed.  
  
They all waited for the land to go totally vertical, but suddenly  
everything stopped at the diagonal. There was a long silence.  
  
"Are we dead yet?" Charmy asked opening one eye.  
  
"We stopped. We're not sinking anymore!" Espio cried.  
  
Another earthquake shivered the island, and then slowly, the land  
began to go back to horizontal. The water level began to fall and drain  
off the sides of the island.  
  
"We're not gonna die! Hooray!" Mighty yelled.  
  
"The Floating Island rises again!" Vector whooped.  
  
"But how?" Espio asked.  
  
"Magic." Knuckles said, coming up behind them.  
  
"Knux!" Mighty yelled happily, tackling him, "We thought you had   
forgotten us!"  
  
"Aw c'mon. I couldn't forget you guys even if I wanted to." He said.  
  
"You got the emerald back?" Charmy asked intently.  
  
"Yes. And that's not all." Knuckles said, and opened his palm to reveal  
a small white crystal, shining in the soft, warm light.  
  
"What is it? A diamond?" Vector asked leaning down over them.  
  
"I don't know yet, but I think it's something very important." He said.  
  
"How do you know?" Espio questioned.  
  
"I don't really know... But I can just feel it." Knuckles answered.  
  
  
  
  
*****   
  
  
  
"So how did you get to Robotropolis if you were hurt?" Tails asked.  
  
"Well y'see, I had hid in tha hover-craft me 'n Nack took t' tha  
Floatin' Island, and when he abandoned ship out in the desert 'round Robo-  
town, I took over as pilot and went t' help you guys." Clawz explained as  
he was sitting up in the infirmary bed once again.  
  
"Didn't your back hurt?" The little fox asked.  
  
"Hurt like hell!" Clawz said grinning.  
  
"Clawz don't curse like that around Tails! He's only nine!" Sally  
scolded him.  
  
"I'm not nine! I'm nine and three-quarters, which is closer to ten   
then nine, so I'm really ten!" Tails insisted.   
  
"Your still little, even if you did go on a mission, that doesn't make   
you older than you are." Sally said, "Now come here and let me see that big  
bump on your head!"  
  
"Aww, leave him alone Sal." Sonic said, "It's a battle scar. You   
should've seen this kid fight!"  
  
"Was I cool?" Tails asked.  
  
"Way past cool." Sonic said patting the kit on the back.  
  
"Where's that sexy nurse?" Clawz asked, "I think I'm about ready for  
my sponge bath."  
  
"I don't think so." Bunnie said rolling her eyes and setting a tray  
of food on his bedside table.   
  
"Y'know I was just kidding, Legs." He said smiling at her.  
  
"I think you're getting better all ready." She said laughing.  
  
"Hmmm... I dunno. This hospital food might just kill me." He said  
eyeing it with a look of disgust.  
  
"What are you to be talkings about? That's high-clazz French cuizine."  
Antonie said, "I had been making it myselves."  
  
"Now I really don't wanna eat it." He said pushing it away.  
  
Sally sighed, "Men..." She stood up to leave. "Well, I'm gonna go   
check the radar one more time." She said.  
  
"I tell ya Princess, Nack didn't tell Robo the location of Knothole.   
I know him... And he wouldn't. Not anymore." Clawz reassured.  
  
"I want to make sure there are no more foreign objects headed here.   
Just call me paranoid." She said shrugging.  
  
"All right, see ya later Paranoid." He said.  
  
She shook her head and went out the door. Sonic stood up to follow her.  
  
"Yo, Spikes!" Clawz called him back.  
  
"Yeah?" Sonic said turning around.  
  
"Good luck." He said and winked at him.  
  
Sonic smiled and walked out the door. He caught up with Sally outside   
the infirmary doors. "Hey, Sal! Wait up!" He called.  
  
"Oh, hi Sonic." She said stopping, "What's up?"  
  
"Uh.. I dunno. I kinda wanted to apologize..." He mumbled.  
  
"Apologize?" She said a bit surprised, "What for?"  
  
"Well I dunno... A lot of stuff. I guess I haven't been in that great  
of a mood today." He admitted.  
  
She smiled. "That's all right, it happens to all of us."   
  
"I mean, today in the field... I didn't mean to order you around. It's  
just that, if anything ever happened to you... I don't know what I'd do..."  
He said softly.  
  
She smiled. "I guess I know what you mean... I was pretty worried  
about you today..."  
  
"Really?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah." She said, "And I guess you were pretty jealous when Knuckles  
showed up..."  
  
"I was not." Sonic insisted.  
  
"Aww, c'mon now, me and Knuckles have known each other since my father   
and I used to vacation on the Floating Island." She said.  
  
"And that's another thing, what is it with you and him anyway?" He  
asked frowning. "Were you guys ever... Y'know.. 'Romantic'?"  
  
Sally laughed, "Sonic, we were five! The closest me and Knuckles ever  
got to romance was a hug!"  
  
"You hugged him?!" Sonic said angrily.  
  
"See, you are jealous!" She said laughing.  
  
"So what if I am?" He said smugly, turning away from her.  
  
She smiled again, "Me and Knuckles are just friends..." She said   
softly, "Besides, I all ready have someone that I care about..."  
  
"Yeah?" He asked, looking at her over his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah." She purred, leaning against him.  
  
"Like who?" He asked stubbornly.  
  
"Like a fast blue hedgehog with an ego the size of Mobius." She said.  
  
"Hmmm. Never met the guy." He said.  
  
She laughed, "Your such a jerk."   
  
"You know you love it." He said, sighing and turning back to face her.   
  
"Such a jerk..." Sally said, but kissed him anyway.   
  
  
  
*****  
  
  
"Hey! Where'd you come from?" Clawz asked happily as Knuckles entered  
the infirmary room.  
  
"I had to sneak by the doorway..." He said sitting down, "Sonic and  
Sally seem to be in their own little world."  
  
"Are they makin' up?" Bunnie asked.  
  
"More like making out." Knuckles said, holding abck a laugh.   
  
"Woo hoo!" Clawz whooped, "I knew ole' Spikes had it in 'em."  
  
Tails made a face, "Kissing is gross!" He said.  
  
"I'm sure you'll change your mind some day..." Clawz assured.  
  
"No way! I'm never gonna have a girlfriend!" He announced.  
  
"That's what they all say..." Clawz said.  
  
"You feeling better now, Clawz?" Knuckles asked him.  
  
"Yeah. Good thing we got back 'ere as quick as we did, or I'd a been  
a goner!" He said.  
  
"When do you think you'll be up to walking around again?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"I don't really know. I'm still awfully sore... Why?" Clawz answered.  
  
"Well, I thought you could come back to the Floating Island with me.  
We could really use a guy like you up there." He said.  
  
"Uh... I dunno man..." Clawz said, "I'm not much into falling off again.  
Besides, the Freedom Fighter's have asked me to stay here with them. I think  
I'm gonna take them up on their offer."  
  
"I understand." Knuckles said standing up, "I hope you get better soon."  
  
"Thanks Knux." Clawz said.  
  
Just as Knuckles was about to leave, he turned around in the doorway  
one more time, "Clawz... There's just one thing I gotta know before I go."  
He said.  
  
"What?" He asked.  
  
"Back when we were kids... Did you really keep your promise?"   
  
Clawz was silent for a moment, then he spoke softly and truthfully,  
"Back then... I told you that you were my best friend. I meant it. And you  
still are." He said then smiled, "That oughta tell you sometin'."  
  
Knuckles smiled too. "Thanks Clawz. That's all I needed to hear." He  
said, and with that he walked out of the room. He walked through the hall  
silently and went out the side doors. There he was stopped by Rotor.  
  
"I finished those tests you wanted me to run, Mr. Echidna." He said.  
  
"And what were the results?" Knuckles asked eagerly.  
  
"You were right. It is a diamond." Rotor said, "The purest form of one  
I've ever seen. And the biggest."  
  
"Biggest?" Knuckles said confused, "The one I gave you was actually  
quite small."  
  
"Not anymore." Rotor said and held it out for Knuckles to see. The  
diamond he had shown the Chaotix earlier had now tripled in size.  
  
"Woah!" Knuckles exclaimed taking it from him and examining it, "It  
grew!"  
  
"Yeah, and that's not all!" Rotor said.  
  
"What do you mean?" He asked.  
  
"It's giving off energy waves of great intensity. The measurements I  
recorded are way off the charts!" He said.  
  
"I knew there was something special about this crystal when I found it!"  
Knuckles said.  
  
"May I ask where you found it?" Rotor asked, interested.  
  
"Yeah, I found it in Nack the Weasel's bag we got in the desert. I  
suppose he just thought it was some little jewel. He didn't even suspect  
he was carrying around the equivalent of a Chaos Emerald." Knuckles   
explained.   
  
"You mean you think this thing is a Chaos Emerald... er Diamond?"  
  
"Hmm..." Knuckles said thoughtfully, "Not exactly. But firmly the  
opposite. More like a... A Peace Diamond."  
  
"Wow. That's incredible!" Rotor said, "What are you going to do with it?"  
  
"I suppose I'll just bring it back to the Floating Island and guard  
it like I do the emerald. That's the only thing I know to do." He said.  
  
"That's a good idea." Rotor said.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks for your help. Tell the others thank you, too. If it wasn't  
for them, I wouldn't have an island to guard." He said begging to leave. He  
walked to the edge of a cliff over-hanging the river. He looked down into  
the small valley, checking it's depth.  
  
"I will Mr. Echidna, but I'm sure they all ready know." Rotor said   
waving good-bye.  
  
Knuckles waved back, then without another word he practically dived off  
the cliff. Seconds later Rotor could see him gliding easily on the up-drafts  
out of the valley and back towards the Floating Island which loomed on the  
distant horizon.  
  
  
*****  
  
  
  
Epilogue: "Just the Beginning"   
  
"Well, well. Look who's finally showed up!" She hissed angrily, crossing  
her slender arms.  
  
"I've missed you, too." He said in a calm, gentle tone. He put a hand  
to her face and brushed her green hair out of her eyes.  
  
"Me? Miss you? Never." She insisted, pulling away and facing the other  
direction.  
  
"Now come now, darling. It's been almost a thousand years." He purred.  
  
"Yeah! That is until you show up again and ruin all my fun!" She whined.  
  
"It was already written. You knew this day was to come. That's why  
you started causing all this trouble before I got here." He explained.  
  
"Hmmph. You think your so smart." She mumbled.  
  
He sighed, "I suppose it won't be long until the others show up."  
  
She turned back to him, "How long do you think it'll take to find  
them all again?" She asked.  
  
"Why?" He asked putting his face close to hers, "Have you missed them  
as much as you missed me?"  
  
She snorted. "I was just asking so I would know how much time I had  
left to have some more fun with this puny island." She growled at him, all  
though not turning away.   
  
"Hmm. I don't think you'll be doing any such thing." He said. "I'm  
growing stronger now, maybe even stronger than you again."  
  
She stuck out her tongue at him. "Your always ruining all my plans!  
I don't see how I even stand you!" She picked up the tail of her dark  
green dress and crumpled it in her hands with frustration.  
  
He smiled and stared at her with his silvery eyes. She softened slightly.  
He put an arm around her and pulled her close. She slowly accepted the  
gesture then leaned her head against his chest.  
  
"Has it really been a thousand years?" She asked softly.  
  
"It seemed so much longer...Without you, Kayoss." He replied.  
  
She looked back up at him. He was still smiling as usual, with his  
white-blonde hair pulled back into a pony-tail giving him a slight feminine  
touch, although still retaining his masculinity. He looked so handsome in  
his clean, white jacket and with his always peaceful silver eyes.  
  
"I... I missed you too, Ace." She admitted soberly.  
  
"I know." He said and hugged her again.  
  
  
*****  
  
  
Knuckles sat watching the two gems with curiosity. He had wondered  
how the diamond and emerald would react to each other. Surprisingly at  
first, there seemed to be no immediate reaction, but after a couple of   
minutes, both began to glow with blazing intensity. The diamond had been  
smaller than the emerald when he had first brought it into the Chaos Chamber,  
but now, after the glow had subsided enough to see, Knuckles realized that  
the gems were now the exact same size. The diamond had grew a little, and  
the emerald had shrunk a little. It was almost as if the two balanced each  
other out. After that observation, the activity died, and the two gems were  
quiet. Knuckles then got bored of such inactive entertainment and walked   
down the long hall and out the secret entrance. Just as he was about to  
go through the door he tripped and fell over something.  
  
"What the... A book?" He said standing up again and picking up the  
large blue-covered book he had tripped over. He examined it for a moment,   
then finding there was no title on the cover, he turned to the title page.   
  
"Blame Chaos," He read aloud off the dampened page. "Sounds   
interesting..." And he began to read it.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The End  
--------------  
  
  
...Or is it? If you haven't all ready guessed, yes, I will be starting  
another mini-series. Please write to me and tell me what you think!  
  
Please send all comments and questions to:  
Erin Lindsey  
diamondneko@mail.com  
  
Legal information:  
Okay. ready, set go!!!  
Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, the Freedom   
Fighters, the Chaotix, Dr. Robotnik, Nack the Weasel, and any related   
characters are licensed characters of SEGA and Co.   
and/or DiC and Archie Adventure series Comics. Clawz the   
Wildcat, Kayoss and Ace was created by Erin Lindsey.   
If you want this story on your site, want to use any of my   
characters, or have any complications send them to:   
  
diamondneko@mail.com  
http://sheliacw.tripod.com  



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